First Quantum shuts Australia nickel plant after acid spill

* Says tank rupture led to hazardous spill

* Ravensthorpe was on track to reach full target output in 2014

* Can't say immediately if force majeure would be invoked (Adds quotes, details of spill, plant location)

By James Regan

SYDNEY, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 15 (Reuters) - Canada's First Quantum Minerals (Toronto: FM.TO - news) has shut its 38,000-tonnes-per-year Ravensthorpe nickel plant in Australia following an acid spill, which is under investigation.

The rupture of a one of several tanks containing sulphuric acid used to leach nickel late on Sunday caused an undetermined amount of the hazardous slurry to spill into a contained area of the plant 550 kilometres (340 miles) southeast of Perth in Western Australia state, company spokesman Dave Coggin said.

Coggin could not immediately say if a declaration of force majeure would be invoked protecting First Quantum from interruptions to sales obligations.

"The spill resulting from the failure has been contained within the plant's protective bunded area," Coggin said, adding that there were no reports of injuries, with all staff accounted for. Sulphuric acid for the leaching process is produced on site.

"The plant is currently shut down and on the basis of information received to date, no adverse environmental effects are anticipated," he said.

While all staff have remained on site, no date has been set for a restart, pending the findings of the investigation, according to the spokesman.

First Quantum acquired the Ravensthorpe nickel project from BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) in 2009 and following extensive rehabilitation restarted the operation in 2011.

This year, the facility was set to meet it full production target of 38,000 tonnes, according to the spokesman.

LME nickel prices were up 0.3 percent on Monday.

Any market impact in metals markets from the shutdown is likely to be muted in the short term given a global supply glut of the metal, used mainly in making stainless steel. Near-record inventories of more than 400,000 tonnes are stacked in London Metal Exchange warehouses.

BHP continues to produce nickel at an annual rate of close to 100,000 tonnes at its nearby Nickel West operation. Glencore also operates a nickel-making plant in Western Australia, churning out more than 30,000 tonnes a year.

Raw nickel produced at the Ravensthorpe site is bought primarily by metals refining companies in China and India. (Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)