On 12 March 2009, BHP Billiton and emerging nickel producer, Western Areas, signed an offtake agreement. Western Areas will receive $A45m from BHP for its projects and will deliver up to 10,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate annually to BHP\'s Kambalda concentrator for 7.5 years. Deutsche Bank\'s Paul Young claims the offtake agreement does not completely disperse questions regarding BHP\'s commitment to its Nickel West unit, although he does not expect it will be sold in the near future.
