Continuing complaints from the community regarding the xanthate odour were one of the issues discussed, with Shire President Ian Mickel strongly stating that he would like to see the problem resolved.

“The xanthate is a major issue, and it is offensive to Esperance people,” he said.

Mr Mickel said Norilsk Nickel met with the Shire to discuss how they could fix the odour problem, and also to share information with the Shire regarding their operations.

Norilsk Nickel representatives also met with representatives from Locals for Esperance Development (LED) to discuss the future of nickel exports through the Esperance Port.

LED spokesperson, Michelle Crisp, said that she was appreciative of the opportunity to meet with the company, and described the situation as “a good positive step”.

“We are glad they are taking a proactive approach to resolving the issues, and hope that we can have a speedy resolution to this problem,” she said.

“LED reinforced our position of wanting a guarantee that the Esperance community will experience no dust, odour or impact from their product.

“Norilsk representatives agreed this is a reasonable expectation.”

The nickel miner is currently investigating other options for handling their product, and will be running a trial shipment of containerised nickel in bags.

“Obviously we would be overjoyed if the company was able to ship their product in containers, and we eagerly await the results of this trial,” Mrs Crisp said.

“They are not the only nickel company, but hopefully if they make the first step others will follow suit.”