BHP Billiton's Q1 2009 nickel production rises 10% year on year
Tokyo (Platts)--22Apr2009
platts.com
Resources giant BHP Billiton produced 47,500 mt of nickel in the first
quarter of 2009, up 10% year on year, the company said Wednesday.
Production in Australia fell due to weather problems, but output in
Columbia recovered after suffering an industrial stoppage in early 2008, the
company said.
The Nickel West refinery in Australia produced 26,900 mt of nickel in
total, including nickel in concentrate, nickel matte and metal, compared to
29,000 mt a year ago.
The Yabulu refinery, also in Australia, produced 7,500 mt of nickel
metal, up from 6,200 mt a year go.
The Cerro Matoso mine in Columbia produced 13,100 mt, up from 7,800 mt in
Q1 2008.
The production for the nine months to March 2009 was 124,500 mt, down 1%
year on year.
Separately, the company produced 200 mt of cobalt at the Yabulu refinery
in the first quarter of 2009, down from 300 mt a year ago, and half of the 400
mt production in the previous quarter.
The cobalt production for the nine months to March 2009 totaled 1,000 mt,
down from 1,200 mt a year ago.
--Mayumi Watanabe, mayumi_watanabe@platts.com |
