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By Leia Michele Toovey- Exclusive to Nickel Investing News

The mining giants that feed the world's appetite for iron, copper and other industry staples earned piles of money as commodities prices soared the past.

 Now, they are facing a much different situation.  Across the board metals prices have plunged.  Right now on the London Metal Exchange ^[2] nickel is trading around $10,000 per tonne, a far cry from its February highs of approximately $33,000.

When it comes to mining, Australia is taking the brunt of the hit. The large amounts of miners in the area are struggling to cope with the metal's recent lows. Mines that have announced cutbacks include the Teck Cominco ^[3] -owned Lennard shelf zinc ^[4] mine, was idled last August because of low metals prices. Straits Resources ^[5] announced this Tuesday that its Australian copper mine was barely operating above the price of copper, sparking a review of the mine's future. Oz Minerals Ltd ^[6] also is reviewing operations across Australia, as is copper ^[7] and zinc miner Kagara Ltd.

Most recently, Australia's Copernicus nickel mine was shut indefinitely pending an improvement in nickel prices. Thundelarra owns 40 per cent of the mine, with fellow Australian Panoramic Resources Ltd holding 60 per cent. The open pit mine, containing an estimated 4,400 tonnes of nickel, chiefly used in stainless steel making, was developed last year when nickel was at a high. Together, the open pit and underground deposits contained about 10,600 tonnes of nickel, based on Thundelarra's estimates. "We'd rather preserve the resource and hopefully in the medium term these nickel prices will improve," a representative for Thundelarra said. Panoramic Resources owns two key mines, Savannah and Lanfranchi, which it predicts will make a strong cash contribution despite low nickel prices.

International Nickel Ventures Corporation (TSX:INV) announced today that it has adopted a shareholder rights plan designed to ensure the fair treatment of INV's shareholders in any transaction involving a change of control of the Corporation.  The rights plan will provide INV's board of directors and shareholders with adequate time to evaluate any unsolicited take-over bid and, if appropriate, to seek out alternatives to maximize shareholder value. The Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted notice of filing of the Rights Plan that will be effective after a shareholder vote, and continue until November 18, 2011. The shareholders of the Corporation will ratify the plan at the next annual meeting of shareholders. Should a non-Permitted Bid be launched, each right would entitle each holder of shares to purchase additional shares of the Corporation at a 50 per cent discount to the prevailing market price.

BHP Billiton Ltd ^[8] has scrapped a study into developing an integrated nickel project in eastern Indonesia, the company said on Thursday. BHP was evaluating a resource estimate at Gag Island in eastern Indonesia, as well as a second resource at Buli in Halmahera. The estimate was to commence following a conditional agreement to form a joint venture with PT Antam Tbk One of the conditions of the agreement was that Antam would obtain government work permission, which wasn't achieved.  Therefore BHP suspended the deal. 

Vale Inco ^[9] will construct a commercial hydromet plant in Newfoundland that will process nickel concentrate from Voisey's bay. A Hydromet offers lower sulfide dioxide emissions and uses less energy than conventional smelting and refining.  Testing at the hydromet demonstration plant in Argentina proved that the technology would be an ideal fit at Voisey's bay. The Harbour Wharf plant would produce 50,000 tonnes per year of finished nickel. The decision provides a major boost for the people and businesses in this area that will be felt for a very long time. A traditional matte plant would have seen Voisey's Bay nickel concentrate shipped to Ontario and Manitoba for smelting. In order to generate more taxation revenue and high employment, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador prefers that the concentrate be processed within the province. The total GDP value of the hydromet plant including Voisey's Bay mine and mills is Cdn$20.7 billion. Vale Inco has projected a US$2.17 billion capital for the plant, which must be completed by December 31, 2011. The plant will generate 450 permanent jobs.