A tonne of nickel powder made by BHP Group sits in a warehouse at its Nickel West division, south of Perth, Australia August 2, 2019. REUTERS/Melanie Burton/File Photo
Oct 1 (Reuters) – BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AX) said on Friday its Kwinana nickel sulphate plant outside Perth has yielded its first nickel sulphate crystals, as the world’s biggest miner aims to tap the booming electric vehicle battery demand.
When fully operational, the plant will produce 100,000 tonnes per year of nickel sulphate, enough to make 700,000 electric vehicle batteries each year, the company said in a statement.
Demand for the raw materials for electric vehicles has increased sharply this year, with growing demand from the battery material supply chain. Nickel sulphate, a key battery chemical, has much higher margins than nickel metal.
The global miner had signed a nickel supply agreement with Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) earlier this year to work with the electric carmaker on lowering carbon emissions. read more
Kwinana refinery will create 80 new direct jobs and support 400 new indirect jobs, along with the 200 construction jobs that were created during the construction phase, asset president Jessica Farrell said.
Reporting by Riya Sharma; Editing by Rashmi Aich
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