BHP weighs sale of Western Australia nickel assets, sets February 2027 review
The suspended Nickel West and West Musgrave operations stay idle while BHP decides whether to restart, close or sell them
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BHP is weighing a sale of its Western Australia nickel assets, including the Nickel West operation and the West Musgrave project, with a decision due by February 2027. The assets have been suspended since October 2024, and BHP said at the time that the shutdown followed a sharp drop in forward nickel prices caused by oversupply from low-cost producers, according to an ASX filing from BHP.
BHP had invested about $3 billion since 2020 to sustain the Western Australia nickel business and shift it toward battery and electric-vehicle markets, including a new sulphate plant and two mines, according to the same ASX filing. Construction at West Musgrave was halted at about 30% complete, BHP disclosed in its 2026 annual report filed with the SEC. In the 2025 financial year, before the suspension, the operations produced 30 kilotonnes of nickel, partly by drawing down existing inventories, BHP said in that year's annual report.
BHP had already flagged in that 2025 filing that the February 2027 review would weigh divestment against restarting, continuing the suspension or closing the assets outright. Separately, BHP has agreed to sell its Kambalda nickel concentrator in Western Australia to Gold Fields, with the deal expected to close during 2027; financial terms have not been disclosed, according to Finimize. Gold Fields has said it will study long-term uses for the Kambalda site and offer jobs to workers who directly support it, though the sale still needs regulatory approval, Finimize reported.
The nickel review is separate from the copper supply disruptions that have driven recent BHP headlines, but it points to a broader reshaping of the company's portfolio, one already visible in the Kambalda sale. Western Australia nickel has been losing money amid weak prices, and BHP's decision to keep the suspension in place while formally weighing a sale suggests management sees no near-term case for restarting output. The alignment between the February 2027 review and the Kambalda deal's expected 2027 closing points to an orderly exit from the nickel business rather than a response to any single event. None of this changes the copper-driven dynamics that have been moving industrial metals markets.