The Palmer Nickel and Cobalt Refinery has been operational for more than 40 years. Read more about our key milestones below:
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1966 | Geologists commence exploration of the Greenvale deposit, an area originally mapped by officers of the Bureau of Mineral Resources in 1957 |
| 1972 | Construction of town and mine at Greenvale and the Greenvale to Yabulu railway commences |
| 1974 | Greenvale town, mine and railway completed |
| 1974 | Yabulu Nickel Refinery completed and commissioned |
| 1986 | First test shipments of imported ore arrived at Yabulu from Indonesia and New Caledonia |
| 1988 | First regular shipments of Indonesian ore arrive |
| 1989 | First regular shipments of New Caledonian ore arrive |
| 1989 | The Palmer Nickel and Cobalt Refinery’s internationally patented ammoniac AL solvent extraction technology is introduced to the refining process to significantly improve the separation of nickel and cobalt |
| 1992 | QNI Limited incorporated on 30 April 1992 and then listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on 24 September 1992 |
| 1992 | Mining at Greenvale ceases |
| 1993 | Last ore railment from Greenvale to Yabulu |
| 1993 | Mining at Brolga commences |
| 1995 | QNI Limited acquires 100 percent ownership of the assets of the QNI Group |
| 1995 | Mining at Brolga ceases |
| 1995 | All ore feed for the Refinery imported from overseas |
| 1996 | The cobalt plant is built at the Palmer Nickel and Cobalt Refinery |
| 1996 | The imported ore handling system is built at Port of Townsville |
| 1997 | The Refinery is purchased by South African owned Billiton |
| 2001 | BHP and Billiton merge. The Refinery becomes a wholly owned BHP Billiton asset |
| 2007 | The Yabulu Expansion Project is completed. The completion of the expansion sees Yabulu processing ore from BHP Billiton’s Ravensthorpe mine in Western Australia |
| 2009 | Following an Options Study, Mr Clive Palmer purchases Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd and the Refinery |
| 2016 | Palmer Nickel and Cobalt Refinery enters care and maintenance |