Wow check out some of the figures in this article. They talk about their "hyper-inflation" rates and also the development cost are reffered to at the Ravensthorpe Nickel mine rising significantly.

http://www.fingaz.co.zw/story.aspx?s...

"BNC battles to stay afloat
Staff Reporter
. . . as Nickel prices tumble as
THE country’s largest nickel producer, Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC), is exploring measures to mitigate the impact of tumbling prices of the metal on the international market threatening the survival of the company.

Majority owned by Mwana Africa PLC, BNC issued a cautionary last week, in which it urged investors to exercise caution in dealing with its shares saying the poor international prices and a skewed exchange rate policy have crippled the company’s ability to trade profitably.
“The cash flow of Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) in recent months has been affected negatively by a number of factors, including declining nickel prices, low production levels, unfavourable exchange rates and periodic power blackouts,” said the miner in a statement.
“The exchange rate policy ultimately cripples the company’s ability to trade profitably by increasing the real cost of production,” added BNC.
BNC employs about 3,000 workers.
Prices of nickel have come down crashing over the past few months from an all time high of US$51,800 per tonne in May 2007 to as little as US$9,800 last week.
The prices have plunged almost 60 percent this year alone as slowing global economic growth cuts demand for the metal, prompting a range of mine closures and project delays.
While the fall in prices is affecting all nickel producers, it has been worse for BNC, which is operating in the world’s harshest economy.
BNC management is currently focused on safety, cost containment and cash management in the wake of a surge in production costs that are responding to inflation, which hit another all-time-high 231 million percent in July this year.
Apart from the impact of hyperinflation, the Zimbabwe industry is also experiencing shortages of electricity and foreign currency needed to import critical spares.
“Management is in active discussion with all stakeholders, including labour unions, to put in place measures to mitigate the impact of these factors, including steps to reduce costs and the rate of cash outflow,” added BNC in the statement.
So bad is the foreign currency situation that the country’s once profitable gold producers face closure because the central bank is failing to pay for deliveries.
The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe revealed last week that gold producers were owed in excess of US$30 million by the Reserve Bank.
In its financial report for the half-year ended September 30 2007, BNC indicated that milled tonnage at the mines, at 675,985 tonnes, was 11 percent lower than the 756,073 tonnes achieved during the first six months of the last financial period.
Nickel concentrate production of 2,959 tonnes was nine percent lower compared with last year.
Another decline in output might seriously hamstrung BNC’s operations.
This might result in BNC putting brakes on the development of its Hunter’s Road project, expected to extend the mine’s life by some 20 years.
All major nickel projects in the world are experiencing significant cost escalations because of the slowdown in the global economy and the slump in international prices.
BHP, the world’s third largest nickel producer after Russia’s Norilsk and Brazil’s Vale, forecast that the cost of developing its Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine has doubled to about US$40,000 a tonne, roughly four times the latest price.
In Australia, Minara Resources is cutting nickel output to conserve costs because of the sharp fall in nickel price.
The Perth-based company originally planed to produce 19,500 to 20,500 tonnes of nickel, but the miner now targets output range of 16,000 to 19,000 tonnes.
Minara Resources has been forced to embark on an ambitious capital raising plan to allow it to stay afloat amid volatile markets.
Minara announced it will conduct a renouncible right issue to raise about US$210 million before costs. It said it expected nickel prices to improve in the second half of next year.