Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine (Halley's; Hale-Bopp; Shoemaker-Levy; Bandalup Hill Mine), Ravensthorpe, Ravensthorpe Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine (Halley's; Hale-Bopp; Shoemaker-Levy; Bandalup Hill Mine)	Mine
Ravensthorpe	- not defined -
Ravensthorpe Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

Those who do not study history are condemned to make the same mistakes of the past.

The mine is generally known as the Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine, and descibes both the mine and associated plant. Halley's and Hale-Bopp are two nickel deposits on Bandalup Hill next to the processing plant. Halley's is presently being mined. Shoemaker-Levy is a nearby deposit on the north side of the South Coast Highway. Some sources call Halley's, the Bandalup Hill Mine after its geographic location.

In 2002 BHP initiated a feasibilty study on opening a nickel/cobalt mine here, 27 kilometres east of Ravensthorpe. Construction commenced in 2004 and production started in 2008. Nickel would be extracted by the Pressure Acid Leaching (PAL) process. This method was introduced into Western Australia in the early 1970's, and resulted in several nickel mines closing. The technology did not suite Western Australian conditions, resulting in higher costs than expected.

In 2004, BHP had estimated a construction cost of 1.3 million. By November 2006 it had spent 2.2 billion. In January 2009, less than a year after opening, BHP announced the sudden closure of the mine. 1800 workers lost their job, and the closure had a severe impact on the small community of Ravensthorpe resulting in widespread and severe criticism in the media. Several senior executives involved with the project were removed.

In December 2009, Canadian miner, First Quantum Minerals purchased the mine/plant for $340 million US, and production started again early 2012.

The nickel mineralisation is found in a single 3 kilometres by 1 kilometre tabular lateritic nickel body from Bandalup Hill striking north north-west. Mineralisation occurs in a high iron, low magnesium limonitic body, and adjacent low iron, high magnesium saprolite body under this. The country rock is intrusions of peridotite to dunite 500-3000 metres wide over a 21 kilometre length zone. The nickel body developed from serpentinised dunite as closely packed pseudomorphs after coarse grained anhedral olivine and accessory magnesite, variably altered to serpentine-talc-magnesite rocks. Units of fibrous tremolite occur within the dunite. The intrusion is a sill-like body dipping west south-west at 50 degrees.

During the Tertiary period, an 80 metre thick lateritic body of loose material (regolith) developed, and is found at each of the three deposits. Within this is a Ni enriched, and locally Co enriched ferralite zone containing goethite, silica and minor clay. Under this is a saprolite zone of serpentine, goethite, carbonate clay with local silica veining. Two thirds of the nickel mineralisation is in the ferralite zone, and the remainder in the upper saprolite zone.

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