 | |
| Formerly | Western Mining Corporation |
|---|---|
| Traded as | ASX: WMR |
| Industry | Mining |
| Founded | 1933 |
| Founder | William Robinson |
| Defunct | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
| Key people | Tommie Bergman (Chairman) Andrew Michelmore (Managing Director) |
| Products | Nickel, copper, uranium oxide, phosphate fertiliser |
| Revenue | $4.0 billion (2004) |
| Net income | $1.0 billion (2004) |
| Website | www.wmc.com |
WMC Resources Limited was an Australian diversified mining company.
History
Western Mining Corporation (WMC) was formed in 1933, when William Robinson, the Australian-born London-based managing director of Broken Hill Associated Smelters, was able to interest several large London-based mining companies into forming syndicates to develop gold mines in Australia. WMC's strategy was to use the newly emerging sciences of mining geology and related geochemistry and geophysics to find new gold deposits. It was a company based on the idea that if they applied good science to exploration, they would be successful.
WMC began operations in Western Australia in December 1933 when it commenced an extensive aerial survey of the Eastern Goldfields. It acquired its first profitable mining operation in June 1935 when it took an option over a new gold discovery at Cox's Find, 43 miles northwest of Laverton.
WMC pioneered district-scale aerial photography in the 1930s, flying many areas in West Australia's gold-mining districts. The hope was to identify new prospective areas near known mines. Unfortunately, the surveys failed due to poor exposures of the rocks in the nearly flat, deeply-weathered areas they flew.
In 1961, WMC acquired a 20% shareholding in Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals that later increased to 40%.
The company's final corporate structure before takeover was formed in 2002 by a demerger that split off the aluminium operations to form Alumina, separate from what was to be known as WMC Resources Limited.
Takeover bids
In December 2004, Xstrata announced a takeover offer for the company. In February 2005, the WMC board recommended that shareholders reject the offer. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and Foreign Investment Review Board both approved the deal, however a number of people (including members of the Government) expressed concerns due to the economic (and strategic) importance of the Olympic Dam mine resources, and the reputation of Xstrata and its major shareholder, Glencore.
The Xstrata takeover offer lapsed after a higher offer was made by BHP Billiton, with support from the WMC Resources board. When the offer closed 3 June 2005, BHP Billiton held 55% of the WMC's shares. Under the Corporations Act 2001 this automatically extended the offer period by another 14 days. On 17 June 2005, BHP Billiton announced that it had achieved 90.5% ownership, and would proceed to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares. It was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange on 29 June 2005.
The company name was later subsumed by the BHP Billiton corporate identity, and a significant name in Australian mining history ceased to be used.
Operations
When it was taken over it had three main businesses:
- Mount Keith and Leinster Nickel Mines, Kambalda Nickel Concentrator, Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter and Kwinana Nickel Refinery, all in Western Australia
- Olympic Dam mine copper-uranium-gold mine in South Australia. In 2005, this mine was estimated to contain 33% of the world's known uranium reserves.
- The Phosphate Hill mine and associated phosphate fertiliser production business in Queensland, which became known as Southern Cross Fertilisers following the BHP Billiton takeover; and Hi Fert, a blending and distribution network supporting Australia's eastern states. BHP Billiton sold Hi Fert to a joint venture of Elders and AWB in December 2005 and Southern Cross Fertilisers to Incitec Pivot in May 2006.
Former
- Agnew Gold Mine
- Beta Hunt Mine
- Burbanks Gold Mine
- Hill 50 Gold Mine
- Nifty Copper Mine
- Norseman Gold Mine
- St Ives Gold Mine
- Three Springs Mine
References
- Langmore, Diane (2007). Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1981-1990. The Miegunyah Press. ISBN 978-0-522-85382-7.
- ^ Success in Exploration for Gold, Nickel, Copper, Uranium, and Petroleum, interview with WMC geologist Roy Woodall, 2006. 211 pp. Retrieved 16 August 2017
- Milestones in WMC Group History WMC Resources
- ^ "New Find Northwest of Laverton". Kalgoorlie Miner. 8 June 1935. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- History Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals
- WMC Demerger WMC Resources 28 October 2002
- Information Memorandum WMC Resources 28 October 2002
- WMC Resources Limited: Admission to Official List Australian Securities Exchange 4 December 2002
- Xstrata launches takeover bid for Western Mining PM 23 November 2004
- Target's Statement by WMC Resources WMC Resources 29 March 2005
- BHP Billiton gains control of WMC Resources Financial Times
- "BHP wins control of WMC Resources". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- WMC Resources Limited: Removal from Official list Australian Securities Exchange 29 June 2005
- End of the line for WMC ABC Rural
- Archived 25 May 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- "Hi Fert Change in Ownership" (PDF) (Press release). Hi Fert. 5 December 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2006.
External links
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| Gold mining companies of Australia | |
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| Active | |
| Defunct | |
- Companies based in Melbourne
- Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
- Defunct mining companies of Australia
- Gold mining companies of Australia
- Nickel mining companies
- Non-renewable resource companies established in 1933
- Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 2005
- Uranium mining companies of Australia
- 1933 establishments in Australia
- 2005 disestablishments in Australia