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LMEWEEK-Tsingshan cuts Indonesian nickel output due to tight ore products

Top nickel manufacturer China's Tsingshan has cut ferronickel production in Indonesia due to consistent shortages of ore triggered by hold-ups to mining quota approvals, two sources with understanding of the matter said.

Tight ore materials this year has pushed up nickel production costs and led to Indonesian smelters buying the raw material from the Philippines, the world's second largest manufacturer of the metal used primarily to make stainless-steel.

Hold-ups to releasing quotas has slowed the fast growth of nickel production in the world's top manufacturer of the metal likewise used to make electrical lorry batteries.

The sources decreased to say just how much nickel production Tsingshan had actually cut and when. Tsingshan did not react to Reuters' e-mails asking for discuss the cuts. Reuters could not reach the company by telephone.

Tsingshan produces nickel pig iron (NPI), among other nickel items, at Indonesia's Morowali and Weda Bay commercial parks that the business managed with other partners.

August information from Indonesia ... reveal slowing nickel pig iron ( NPI) production at Morowali and Weda Bay, stated Jim Lennon, Handling Director for Products Method at Macquarie Group.

This is due to ongoing ore shortages but also some furnaces were switched from nickel pig iron to matte to make metal earlier this year.

Lennon anticipated Indonesian nickel output this year to grow 15% yearly to 2.2 million loads, a slight down revision compared to Macquarie's previous quote of 2.25 million loads.

Indonesia had provided an annual nickel ore output quota of around 240 million metric heaps per year for the next three years, its Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif stated in June.

Tri Winarno, a senior authorities at Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, informed Reuters that volumes authorized for nickel ore under RKAB are sufficient.

A nickel smelter source stated operating smelters was tough provided elevated ore prices and moving ferro-nickel costs, however he added they were making revenues and did not desire to suspend, which will create the expense to reboot heating systems.

BUYING FROM THE PHILIPPINES

Indonesia imported 3.37 million tons of nickel ore in the initially seven months of 2024 from the Philippines compared with simply 374,454 tons for all of 2023, main Indonesian information revealed.

More than 55% of the ore imports from the Philippines so far this year were delivered to Weda port under the Weda Bay Industrial Park, and around a fifth went to Morowali.

Costs of Philippine ore consisting of 1.5% nickel have surged 30% since the start of the year to $52 a ton on Sept. 26, Custeel information on LSEG Work area revealed.

On the other hand, prices of nickel pig iron including 8-12% nickel have risen just 6.6% so far this year in China, information by Shanghai Metals Market showed.

(source: Reuters)