Selected 2004 Annual Report Summaries: Nickel

NOTABLE: BHP Billiton. headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, is a diversified resources group. Bullion's nickel production is operated through its Stainless Steel Materials Business. * In 2004, Billiton's Cerro Matoso ferronickel plant produced a record 49 kt and its QNI Yabulu Refinery, which processes nickel and cobalt, posted a record 32.6 kt of production. Billiton produced a total of 81.7 kt of nickel in 2004. * Billiton approved a $1.05 billion project to develop a 13,000 kt/y mine and treatment plant near Ravensthorpe, Western Australia, that would produce mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide. A $350 million expansion project was approved for the QNI Yabulu Refinery in Queensland, Australia, to expand production capacity for 220 kt of the mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide product. Combined, the Ravensthorpe and Yabulu projects will increase nickel production capacity from 31 kt/y to an estimated 76 kt/y and will extend the life of the refinery by approximately 25 years. * Bullion's combined nickel production capacity out of Australia and Columbia is expected to increase from 85 kt/y to more than 130 kt/y by 2007.

Eramet

NOTABLE: Based in Paris, Eramet is an integrated mining and metallurgy group that produces nonferrous metals and their chemical derivatives, high-performance special steels, nickel alloys and superalloy s, and high-performance parts for industry. Eramet Nickel, the group's nickel division, produces and processes nickel ore in its five mining centers in New Caledonia and manufactures and markets various products based on that ore at plants in New Caledonia and France. * Eramet Nickel implemented a 75 kt program at its New Caledonia operations in 2004. A new furnace was started up and work related to conventional mining was completed on Tiébaghi in 2004. In early 2005, construction was completed on the port loading and storage facilities and a new ore beneficiation plant was commissioned. * At its Sandouville operations in France, Eramet successfully tested a production capacity increase to 15 kt to meet market demands. * At Eramet Nickel's New Caledonia facilities, a ferronickel production furnace was shut down in March while a new 75 megawatt furnace was built. The new furnace was commissioned in June with metal production beginning in mid-July and was expected to produce 70 kt in 2005. The plant's two remaining furnaces continued ferronickel production during this time, and the company had built up inventory in 2003 to prepare for the furnace idling, allowing Eramet to keep ferronickel sales level in 2004 at more than 48 kt.

Falconbridge

NOTABLE: Toronto-based Falconbridge produces nickel, copper, cobalt, and platinum group metals. * In 2004, Falconbridge produced 100.9 kt of refined nickel. Production at the company's Sudbury mines in Ontario decreased from 24,1431 in 2003 to 22,6021 in 2004, due to a three-week strike in January. * In the fourth quarter, production began at the new Montcalm nickel mine under budget and ahead of schedule. The $77 million mine has a capacity of 750 kt/y of ore. The ore is processed, smelted, and refined at Falconbridge facilities, adding 9 kt to Falconbridge's annual nickel production. Falconbridge is now reviewing a project that would increase Montcalm's mine production to 1,000 kt/y. * FaIconbridge announced plans to expand its Falcondo ferronickel operation to add an additional 6-7 kt of annual production capacity. * In 2004. Falconbridge completed a bankable feasibility study on the Koniambo ferronickel project in New Caledonia. The company has developed an implementation strategy and financing structure for the $2.2 billion project. which is expected to produce 60 kt/y for the next 50-1OO years. Falconbridge is a 49% joint venture partner in the project; the Société Minière du Sud Pacifique, the development arm of the North Province of New Caledonia, holds a 51 % stake in the project. * At Falconbridge's Raglan mine in Quebec, a two-phase expansion that would increase annual mine production from 900 kt to 1,200 kt of ore by 2007 is under development. The added capacity would result in a 5 kt increase in refined nickel production. * Work also progressed at the Nickel Rim South project at Falconbridge's Sudbury operations in Ontario, where the company plans to start ore production in 2009. * Falconbridge predicted that these expansions would increase production to 113kt of nickel in 2005. rising to 150 kt in the future. Preliminary production numbers show that production levels of refined nickel reached 114 kt in 2005.

Grupo Votorantim

NOTABLE: Votorantim Metais, the metals division of Brazil's Grupo Votorantim. conducts its nickel operations through Companhia Niquel Tocantins. Latin America's largest producer of electrolytic nickel, the company produces more than 20 kt/y of electrolyte nickel. The plant is located in São Paulo and supplies its own nickel carbonate from a beneficiation plant in its mining facilities at Niquelândia. * Approximately 60% of the nickel produced at Niquel Tocantins is exported to the United States, Europe, and Asia. * In January 2004. Votorantim Metais acquired Mineracão Serra da Fortaleza from the Rio Tinto Group for $77 million. Located in Fortaleza de Minas in the state of Minas Gerais, the nickel production company has the capacity to produce 10 kt of nickel per year. The acquisition is part of Votorantim's plan to increase nickel production to 30 kt/y.