Australia's WMC Resources will supply China's largest nickel producer, Jinchuan Group Ltd., with 90,000 mt of nickel-in-matte between 2005 and 2010, adding to a 30,000-mt agreement signed in December 2002. As the agreements now stand, WMC will export 120,000 mt of nickel-in-matte to Jinchuan between 2005 and 2010 from its nickel smelter at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Jinchuan will refine the matte to nickel metal at its integrated base- and precious-metals complex in central China. The deal is worth 1 billion Australia dollars. Nickel-in-matte from WMC is produced by flash smelting of nickel concentrates and contains around 68 percent nickel.
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