Australian nickel miner, Western Areas expects its nickel concentrate production in FY2022 (ending June 30, 2022) to remain at the previous fiscal’s levels of 16,000–17,000mt.
Its capital growth is projected to be between AUD5-10mn ($3.6-7.3mn) in FY2022, the company said in a statement. The company also expects first ore from its Odysseus long-life mine in September, Western Areas’ managing director Dan Lougher said in a statement. The miner’s outlook remains positive on nickel prices given its increasing need in electric vehicles.
The miner’s nickel ore production in FY2021 (ended June 30, 2021) dropped to 16,812mt compared to 23,391mt in FY2020. Its nickel mine production in H2 FY2021 rose to 9,147mt compared to 7,665mt in the first half of the fiscal.
Nickel mill production in FY2021 fell to 16,180mt compared to 20,926mt in FY2020 and increased to 8,889mt in H2 FY2021 against 7,291mt in H1 FY2021.
Total nickel sales volume in FY2021 fell to 15,509mt from 19,857mt in FY2020 while H2 sales grew to 8,109mt compared to 7,400mt in the first half of the fiscal.
Western Areas’ revenue in FY2021 dropped to AUD257.1mn compared to AUD308.3mn in FY2020. Revenue in the second half of the year rose to AUD134.4mn from AUD122.7mn in the first half of the year.
Its EBITDA in FY2021 stood at AUD73.5mn compared to AUD121.8mn in FY2020 while H2 EBITDA grew to AUD49.4mn compared to AUD24mn in H1 FY2021.
($1=AUD1.38)