BHP looks for RI partner

BHP looks for RI partner

MELBOURNE (Dow Jones): Broken Hill Proprietary Co. (BHP) is looking for a joint venture partner for the possible development of its Gag Island nickel deposit in Indonesia.

"We are looking at ways that we can exploit that nickel deposit in conjunction with some more experienced players in the area," Chief Executive Paul Anderson told a meeting of the Securities Institute of Australia.

"If we go ahead, we will not do it alone. I'm very much a fan of joint ventures," Anderson said.

BHP has a 75 percent stake in the Gag Island deposit, with Indonesian state mining company PT Aneka Tambang holding the remaining 25 percent.

A feasibility study on the project in 1997 envisaged a mining operation at Gag Island producing about 40,000 metric tons of nickel a year.