There has been “a lot of interest” in BHP’s mothballed Nickel West business, according to Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King, stoking speculation a sale agreement could soon be inked.
Minister King was asked at a conference held in Melbourne on Tuesday if the Foreign Investment Review Board would put a blanket ban on Chinese entities acquiring BHP’s WA nickel assets.
In response, Ms King said FIRB decisions were “taken project by project” while revealing there were buyers lined up for what was the State’s key nickel mining and refining operation.
“That (Nickel West) is a really important asset and there’s been a lot of interest in it and I’m really glad we were able to work with BHP when they made their decision to make sure that it would be able to function in future,” she said.
BHP put its sprawling WA nickel arm, which sustained 3000 jobs, into care and maintenance during October 2024 and kicked-off a sale process last October, according to industry sources.
Front-runners for Nickel West are believed to be Glencore, Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo, South Korean steel and renewable battery manufacturing heavyweight POSCO and Japanese metals refiner Sumitomo Metal Mining.
The sale figure is expected to be a nominal sum given Nickel West comes with billions of dollars worth of rehabilitation liabilities.
BHP has been coy about the status of the sales process and any potential buyer interest.
“We’ve said that we are canvassing options around potential divestment of (Nickel West) if there’s somebody else who would be more likely to get things back and going in the near term. That process remains underway,” chief executive Mike Henry said last week.
The mining giant has said it would make a decision on whether to shut Nickel West for good by February next year. BHP on Tuesday declined to respond to Minister King’s comments.
