Kwinana nickel refinery

The Kwinana nickel refinery 30 kilometers south of Perth in Western Australia, that began operations in 1970 under the ownership of WMC Resources, came under the control of BHP Billiton Nickel West when BHP Billiton acquired WMC Resources in 2005.

BHP Billiton Nickel West today comprises the following operations in Western Australia:
A large open cut nickel mine and concentrator at Mt Keith
Mining operations at Leinster (The Perseverance underground nickel mine at Leinster was closed in December 2013)
A nickel concentrator and smelter at Kalgoorlie that produces nickel matte and nickel concentrate.
The Kwinana nickel refinery that produces London Metal Exchange grade nickel briquettes and nickel powder along with a range of other saleable by-products

Kwinana Nickel Refinery Refines Nickel Matte From the Kalgoorlie Smelter
The nickel matte refined at the Kwinana nickel refinery all comes from the BHP Billiton Nickel West smelter at Kalgoorlie. It is refined at the Kwinana plant using an ammonia-leach process that has a capacity to manufacture 65,000 tonnes of nickel metal a year.

Kwinana Nickel Refinery Officially Opened in September 1970
The Kwinana nickel refinery was originally designed to treat Kambalda nickel concentrate that saw it producong up to 15,000 tonnes of nickel metal a year. Construction of the refinery began in June 1968 and the first nickel metal produced in May 1970. The plant was officially opened in September 1970.

The site at Kwinana Beach was chosen for the refinery as it is in close proximity to necessary raw materials such as; ammonia that is required for leaching, fuel oil for producing steam and naptha for the production of hydrogen. All these materials are readily accessible in the Kwinana industrial area.

In 1970 it was decided to use the Kwinana nickel refinery for the further processing of nickel matte obtained from the Kalgoorlie smelter. This decision required the building of a flash smelter at Kalgoorlie, a project that began in the first half of 1971. The Kalgoorlie smelter produced its first nickel matte in December 1972 and from this point the Kwinana plant began refining a mixture of nickel concentrate and nickel matte.

Kwinana Nickel Refinery Processed Nickel Matte Only From 1985
A substantial expansion of the Kwinana nickel refinery was undertaken in 1977 that allowed the plant to increase its production to 30,000 tonnes annually and in 1985 it was decided to cease the refining of nickel concentrate and to process nickel matte only. By 1993 the refinery was producing 32,000 tonnes of nickel metal a year but a further expansion program, which took place during 1992 and 1993, increased its production capacity to 45,000 tonnes a year. Further upgrading from 1999 to 2005 resulted the refinery lifting its capacity to 65,000 tonnes a year. In 2007 the refinery's hydrogen sulphide plant was replaced.

The Kwinana nickel refinery is ideally situated as far as the lifestyle of its employees is concerned in that it is surrounded by the Perth seaside suburbs of; Rockingham, Port Kennedy, Secret Harbour and Mandurah. It is also close to the rural areas of Serpentine, Mundijong and Jarrahdale that are surrounded by pristine bushland. The area offers a variety of public and private schools, shopping centres that are open seven days a week and all kinds of sporting clubs to suit all tastes in recreational pursuits.