Canadian company First Quantum Minerals has confirmed on Monday the closure of its Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation (RNO) in WA to cause 330 loss of jobs.
The Ravensthorpe mine is set to put into care and maintenance on Wednesday.
In a statement on Monday the company appreciated WA government for the support but nothing could change the decision.
“Despite RNO’s best efforts to maintain operations by transitioning to a new operating strategy that involved ceasing mining activities, processing stockpiles and altering its approach to production, the site is incurring significant current and projected losses,” company said.
The closure will affect 330 people who will lost their jobs.
This follows the 90 workers who lost their jobs at Ravensthorpe in January when First Quantum halted mining but planned to continue processing its stockpile.
They are added to other 140 people who lost their jobs after the suspension of Panoramic Resources’ Savannah nickel project in WA’s Kimberley this year.
Previously the closure of mine was in 2009 which left 1,800 people out of work and in 2017 which affectef 450 jobs.
Also the giant of nickel in WA, BHP, is set to announce the future of its 3000-strong workforce in the Goldfields and Kwinana by August.
Ravensthorpe Shire president Tom Major said they were hopeful that the mine might continue, but it’s going to hurt for those people.
“We’re a resilient community, but there’s going to be a significant number of people without jobs from this point on,” he said.
“That’s going to have an impact on sporting teams, community groups, small businesses like the bakery and the pub … all the moving parts that make your community tick.”