SMM Nickel Flash: High-Grade NPI Sentiment Index Drops, Spot Market Cools in August

[Vale: Mechanical Construction of the HPAL Pomalaa Nickel Smelter Has Been Completed] Budiawansyah, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer of PT Vale Indonesia (INCO), said on August 13 that the physical and mechanical construction of the HPAL (high-pressure acid leach, hydrometallurgical) smelter located in the Pomalaa block, Pomalaa District, Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province, has been completed (one production line has reached 100% mechanical completion) and has entered the trial operation stage. The project is being developed by PT Kolaka Nickel Indonesia (KNI), with partners Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (Huayou) and Ford Motor Company (Ford). PT Vale Indonesia Tbk plans to commence production of the project in Pomalaa in Q3 2026, with a target capacity of 120,000 mt Ni of MHP.

[SMM Nickel Flash] News on August 17: The current market sentiment for high-grade NPI is relatively weak. Many market participants, facing a downward market trend, have chosen to wait and see and have stopped offering quotes. Downstream steel mills’ purchase willingness remains sluggish, with some enterprises directly suspending related procurement activities, and market buying interest has clearly cooled.

According to SMM data, on August 17, the FOB price of Indonesian MHP nickel fell by $13/mt in metal content from the previous day, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP cobalt fell by $2,417/mt Co. The FOB price of Indonesian high-grade nickel matte fell by $32/mt in metal content.