Call to bail out Australia's last remaining nickel smelter

BHP to decide Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter future amid bailout call In short: The future of BHP's Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter in Western Australia remains unclear, with a decision expected within the next six months. WA Liberal MP Rick Wilson wants the federal government to provide financial support, just like it has for four other metal smelters elsewhere. What's next? BHP is expected to finish a review of its mothballed Nickel West operations by February 2027. A WA Liberal MP says Australia's only nickel smelter should be next in line for a government bailout as mining giant BHP mulls its future. The company's Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter was mothballed in 2024 after 51 years of operations. Rick Wilson, whose federal electorate of O'Connor includes Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is pushing for the same sort of Commonwealth support for the smelter that has been provided for metal smelters elsewhere. In the past year, the federal government has committed a combined $1.67 billion to ensure four smelters on the east coast stay open — including a $2.5 billion deal announced last week to secure the future of Tomago Aluminium. Nickel was added to the government's Critical Minerals List in February 2024. "Are jobs in the Hunter Valley worth more than in the Goldfields?" Mr Wilson said. "No support has been offered for the nickel industry which is also classified as a strategically important mineral. "The bigger picture is that the safeguard mechanism is destroying the viability of our heavy industries and forcing the taxpayer to subsidise industries which the government's policy have made unviable." Taxpayer bailouts adding up Last year, the federal opposition unsuccessfully lobbied for a Senate inquiry into Australia's metals manufacturing industry, claiming 10 smelters and refineries across Australia were in danger of closing due to high energy prices. Last week's Tomago deal follows a string of similar bailouts the Albanese government has offered to struggling heavy industries, including Glencore's Mount Isa copper smelter and the Nyrstar smelters in Tasmania and South Australia. The ABC asked WA-based Resources Minister Madeleine King if the federal government was working on a potential funding package to save the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter and Nickel West. In response, the ABC received a statement from the office of Industry Minister Tim Ayres, who described nickel as "an important critical mineral for Australia" with a "key role in our industrial future". "The Commonwealth continues to work productively and collaboratively with state governments and facility owners," the statement read. Bailouts questioned But City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder mayor Glenn Wilson, who also chairs the Australian Mining Cities Alliance, said government bailouts were "sugar hits" to businesses without long-term planning to support affected communities. "The alliance understands obviously it's important to have these facilities up and available for our communities," he said. "But at the same time, government handouts are not the way of the future. "Does that mean that when those government handouts finish we are just prolonging the inevitable, or are we trying to support our communities in the longer term?" The future is not looking especially bright for WA's two remaining nickel mines, Glencore's Murrin Murrin mine and IGO's Nova nickel-copper mine. Nova is set to close by the end of the year and be converted into a lithium processing facility. Meanwhile, Glencore announced to the London Stock Exchange on August 5 it had written down the value of Murrin Murrin by $US457 million to zero in the current market. BHP deadline approaching The dire situation for WA's once-booming nickel industry comes six months before BHP is due to make a call on the future of its Nickel West division. Only a handful of the 3,500-strong workforce stayed on at Nickel West when the smelter was mothballed. The company declined taxpayer support in 2024 when it announced its "temporary suspension" and committed to reviewing its nickel business by February 2027. "As part of this review, BHP is assessing the potential divestment of the Western Australia nickel assets," the company's annual report stated on Tuesday after posting a $US9.8 billion profit for the 2025-26 financial year. "Any decision to divest will be subject to an assessment against other options, including continuing temporary suspension, restart or closure."