News: Australia's Mincor puts nickel mine on care and maintenance

MELBOURNE, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Australia's Mincor Resources (MCR) said on Wednesday it was preparing to put its nickel mine operations on care and maintenance until prices of the steel-making metal recover.

The slump in nickel prices has shown little sign of abating, hammered by a slowdown in China's stainless steel industry and a reluctance by miners to cut production.

Mincor's move marks a second Australian casualty of plunging nickel prices in as many weeks after the Queensland Nickel refinery (QNI), operated by maverick politician Clive Palmer, went into voluntary administration.

"Given the continued falls in the nickel price, Mincor intends to ... wind down operations completely during the March quarter," Mincor told the Australian securities regulator in a filing.

"Mining will cease at the end of January and the mines will be prepared for a period of suspension until the nickel price recovers."

The miner produced 2,290 tonnes of nickel in ore for the half year ended December, it said.

London Metal Exchange nickel prices tumbled more than 40 percent last year to hit their lowest in more than 12 years at $8,100 a tonne on Jan. 12.

Shares in Mincor fell as much as 31.6 pct to A$0.13, the lowest since Nov 13, 2001.

Palmer's QNI is continuing production while in the hands of administrators. ($1=6.5796 Chinese yuan renminbi)