Kambalda Nickel Operations
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mining |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Headquarters | Kambalda East , Australia |
| Products | Nickel concentrate |
| Parent | BHP (Nickel West division) |
Kambalda Nickel Operations, also known as the Kambalda Nickel Mine, is a nickel mining and concentrating facility located near Kambalda East, Western Australia. The deposit was first identified in 1954, with mining activities commencing in 1967 under the management of WMC Resources until its takeover by BHP in 2005. Between 2001 and 2003, WMC halted mining activities at Kambalda and divested its mining interests.
Currently, BHP operates the Kambalda Nickel Concentrator through its Nickel West division, although the plant was on standby from 2018 until 2022. The majority of mining leases in the area have been held by Mincor Resources, which conducted occasional mining within former WMC workings until its acquisition by Wyloo Metals in 2023.
Notably, Kambalda holds the distinction of being Western Australia's inaugural nickel mine. The site was also linked to an international incident in 1978 when a lost caesium-137 density gauge caused contamination of a furnace in Singapore.
History
Prior to the mid-1960s, nickel was not prominently featured in Western Australia’s mining landscape. This shifted dramatically in 1966 when high-grade nickel was discovered at Kambalda, heralded as a pivotal mineral development and a landmark event.[1]
During the 1950s, WMC Resources had only limited exploration efforts for nickel but refocused their attention after rediscovering nickel at the former Red Hill Gold Mine site in 1954 amid uranium prospecting. Renewed interest led to drilling operations in 1964, culminating in intercepting significant nickel grades at 133 metres depth on 28 January 1966, with official announcement made on 21 February 1966.[2]
Exploiting a global shortage of nickel, WMC swiftly advanced the project by sinking the Silver Lake shaft by June 1967 using repurposed equipment to minimize expenditure. A concentrator plant capable of processing 130,000 tonnes annually began producing nickel concentrate that same month, with shipments transported via road and rail to Esperance for export. The operation was formally inaugurated on 15 September 1967 at a cost of $5.9 million.[3]
Subsequent discoveries allowed expansion of both mine output and concentrator capacity to 1.4 million tonnes per year by 1972. To house the workforce, the towns of Kambalda East and Kambalda West were developed. Encouraged by Kambalda’s success, WMC established further processing facilities including the Kwinana Nickel Refinery and Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter. However, declining nickel demand during the mid-1970s led to reduced profitability and workforce downsizing; production rebounded following market improvements starting in 1979. By 1983, some shafts such as Durkin were closed due to resource exhaustion.[4]
In 1974, gold was discovered within one of the nickel shafts, prompting WMC to develop the nearby St Ives Gold Mine. During downturns in nickel prices throughout the early 1980s, gold production helped sustain operations through additional gravity separation circuits installed at the Kambalda concentrator.[5]
The original Silver Lake Shaft ceased operations in 1986 amidst a nickel price slump. Despite a recovery in late 1987, production declined owing to industrial disputes related to seven-day shift proposals and strategic cost reductions.[6]
By June 1992, over 30 million tonnes of ore containing approximately 930,000 tonnes of nickel had been processed at the Kambalda concentrator. Operational efficiencies improved thereafter, with separate branding for nickel as Kambalda Nickel Mines and for gold as St Ives Gold Mines.[7]
Environmental issues at the tailings storage facility near the Kwinana refinery necessitated transporting tailings back to Kambalda for disposal.[8]
Beginning in 2000, WMC divested several assets related to Kambalda; mining activities ceased by 2003 though processing continued at the concentrator.[9] The largest transaction occurred in November 2000 when assets were sold for $38 million to Mincor Resources, Clough Mining, and Donegal Resources.[10] The concentrator processed ore from third parties mined at former WMC sites as well as new local deposits.[11]
By 2007, Western Australia’s nickel sector had expanded into an $8 billion industry.[12]
In 2018, BHP announced plans to convert the Kambalda concentrator into a gold processing facility following closure of key nickel ore sources; however, without securing gold feedstock, the plant was placed under care and maintenance.[13]
Between 2021 and 2022, BHP collaborated with renewable energy company TransAlta to install solar power and battery storage systems supplying electricity to the Kalgoorlie smelter, Kwinana refinery, and recommissioned Kambalda concentrator—resuming processing ore from Mincor's Cassini mine in May 2022.[14]
Mincor Resources maintained control over most mining leases surrounding Kambalda and intermittently mined old WMC workings alongside new discoveries. From initial operations until low nickel prices forced care and maintenance in 2016, Mincor produced roughly 180,000 tonnes of nickel-in-ore. Mining activities recommenced in May 2022 at both Cassini deposit and Northern Operations within former WMC tenements.[15]
In 2023, Wyloo Metals—backed by Andrew Forrest—acquired Mincor Resources for $760 million amid cash flow difficulties faced by Mincor.[16] By January 2024, Wyloo declared plans to place mining operations into care and maintenance by May due to declining nickel prices; shortly after, BHP announced it would similarly place the Kambalda Nickel Concentrator under care and maintenance effective June 2024.[17]
Open Source Incident
On 14 November 1978, a density gauge containing caesium-137 was reported missing from the Kambalda mill, where it had been taken for recalibration.
Shortly thereafter, National Iron and Steel Mills (NISM) in Singapore informed Sims Consolidated that one of their furnaces showed contamination by caesium-137. NISM held Sims accountable, as Sims had transported scrap metal from Kambalda, while Sims attributed responsibility to WMC.
Barry Paterson, the resident manager at Kambalda, was fined $100 in May 1979 for violations of the Radiation Safety Act. The event drew significant attention both nationally and internationally, leading to discussions between Australian and Singaporean officials by September 1979.
The core of the dispute involved 119 drums of mildly contaminated waste—comprising bricks and sludge from the Singapore furnace—that Singapore insisted Australia accept and dispose of. Both WMC and Sims petitioned the Australian government to permit the transfer of this waste to Western Australia, with approval granted in 1981.
Logistical arrangements for shipping encountered difficulties due to protests and strikes opposing the waste’s arrival. Initial plans to store the material in a shed at Kambalda were abandoned following a strike at WMC mines; instead, a concrete bunker outside Kambalda was selected. The waste was transported as the sole cargo aboard the Cape Comorin, originally scheduled for unloading in Geraldton. However, local dockworkers protested and requested unloading at Fremantle Harbour, but strike-related port closures necessitated diverting the shipment to Esperance. The waste reached Esperance on 7 December 1981 and was subsequently moved to Kambalda for burial within the bunker.
Following this incident, the bulk carrier Cape Comorin was prohibited from docking at the Port of Melbourne until all radioactive contamination had been fully removed.
Railway
The West Kambalda Railway Act 1972, passed on 9 June 1972 by the Parliament of Western Australia, authorised the Western Australian Government Railways to build a spur line branching from the Esperance railway line at Kambalda West to serve the Kambalda nickel concentrator. This spur is now incorporated into the Arc Infrastructure rail network.
See also
External links
- Kambalda Deposit Summary Report
- Kambalda magmatic sulphide nickel mines
- BHP official website
- Mincor Resources official website
- MINEDEX: Kambalda / BHP Database of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation & Safety
- MINEDEX: Kambalda / Mincor Database of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation & Safety
- Guide to Records on Western Mining 1931-2005 via National Library of Australia