Call to bail out Australia's last remaining nickel smelter

The future of BHP's Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter in Western Australia remains unclear, with a decision expected within the next six months.

WA Liberal MP Rick Wilson wants the federal government to provide financial support, just like it has for four other metal smelters elsewhere.

BHP is expected to finish a review of its mothballed Nickel West operations by February 2027.

A WA Liberal MP says Australia's only nickel smelter should be next in line for a government bailout as mining giant BHP mulls its future.

The company's Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter was mothballed in 2024 after 51 years of operations.

Rick Wilson, whose federal electorate of O'Connor includes Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is pushing for the same sort of Commonwealth support for the smelter that has been provided for metal smelters elsewhere.

In the past year, the federal government has committed a combined $1.67 billion to ensure four smelters on the east coast stay open — including a $2.5 billion deal announced last week to secure the future of Tomago Aluminium .

Nickel was added to the government's Critical Minerals List in February 2024.

"Are jobs in the Hunter Valley worth more than in the Goldfields?" Mr Wilson said.

"No support has been offered for the nickel industry which is also classified as a strategically important mineral.

"The bigger picture is that the safeguard mechanism is destroying the viability of our heavy industries and forcing the taxpayer to subsidise industries which the government's policy have made unviable."

Last year, the federal opposition unsuccessfully lobbied for a Senate inquiry into Australia's metals manufacturing industry, claiming 10 smelters and refineries across Australia were in danger of closing due to high energy prices.

Last week's Tomago deal follows a string of similar bailouts the Albanese government has offered to struggling heavy industries, including Glencore's Mount Isa copper smelter and the Nyrstar smelters in Tasmania and South Australia .

The ABC asked WA-based Resources Minister Madeleine King if the federal government was working on a potential funding package to save the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter and Nickel West.