Australia's IGO to record impairment against nickel assets in strategy shift
Recasts paragraph 1, adds background in paragraphs 6-7
July 16 (Reuters) -Australia's IGO Ltd IGO.AX said on Tuesday it would record a non-cash impairment charge against its nickel exploration assets for fiscal 2024, bringing its nickel impairments up to nearly A$1.5 billion in the past two years.
The battery metal producer, which is reeling from falling prices of key commodities, expects to record between A$275 million ($185.90 million) and A$295 million as the impairment charges relate to its Western Australia-based Silver Knight and Mt Goode nickel exploration assets.
IGO has been undertaking a strategic review in an attempt to revaluate its resources, as well as rationalise its broader exploration portfolio.
In January, the company had flagged it would put its Cosmos nickel project in Western Australia into care and maintenance due to lower prices.
IGO had recorded an impairment charge of A$171.8 million for its Cosmos and Forrestania nickel assets, adding to a nearly A$1 billion write-down in 2023.
The Mt Goode deposit is a part of the Cosmos project, while Silver Knight forms a part in the Nova nickel-copper-cobalt operation.
Last week, mining giant BHP Group BHP.AX said it will suspend its Western Australia nickel operations, as global nickel producers grapple with a plunge in metal prices and an oversupply in the market.
($1 = 1.4793 Australian dollars)
Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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