Mincor Resources Limited has set itself a goal to boost its annual nickel production by a third to 20,000 tonnes within three years.

The growth strategy - outlined to the 2006 Paydirt Australian Nickel Conference in Perth recently - will see the nickel producer ramp up its output from15,000 tonnes currently from its Western Australian position as the largest nickel producer in the Kambalda province.

Mincor executive director Jim Reeve told delegates to the conference that following a business review, the company planned to continue production at Kambalda at its current high rate where its nickel discoveries are now parallelling its increasing mining and production profile.

"The basis of our expansion strategy is to maintain output of at least 15,000 tonnes of nickel through to 2013," Jim Reeve says.

"Behind that however is an objective to lift output to 20,000 tonnes per annum by 2010 through further discovery and production gains within our four main Kambalda projects.

"We are putting a lot of effort into Kambalda and are spending historic highs there on exploration and capital development to keep mines going at full production."

Jim Reeve says an increasing contributor would be the Mariners Mine, previously closed through water flooding, but acquired and reopened by Mincor two years ago.

"We are still pumping out water to a nearby lake, on an ongoing basis, but it is totally under control. We have just enjoyed our best quarterly production at Mariners, and are about to drill deeper into a new zone to extend Mariners mineable resource," he says.

"Mariners is starting to come good for us after a difficult first year. While we do not expect to get away from the water problem, it is now truly manageable.

"We have achieved the turnaround point in recent months so that Mariners is now performing strongly."

Three years ago, Mincor also opened the formerly closed Redross nickel mine, which Jim Reeve says still contained 275,000 tonnes of nickel ore at a 3.0% head grade in addition to good indications of other 3% plus intersections.

"We have set an aggressive exploration agenda for Redross for the next six months to prove up further mineable reserves."

Work is also due to start within weeks on the South Miitel development, at the south end of Mincor's flagship Miitel Mine - this is at the southern end of a three kilometre long nickel mineralised system containing 950,000 tonnes in reserves, within a total 2.2 million tonne orebody. The system is still open at both the north and south ends.

"This is putting Miitel up there with the bigger ones for the Kambalda district," Jim Reeve says.

"Very good drill results are also being achieved at our 70% farm-in project at Carnilya Hill, and this project is expected to figure in our growth strategy."

Jim Reeve indicates also that while Kambalda remains the priority, Mincor has started due diligence on a number of broader base metal opportunities within Australia, and selectively, overseas to broaden the company's commodity cashflow position by 2013.