Nickel import disruption amid South Africa's lockdown to little impact China's downstream

SHANGHAI, Mar 25 (SMM) – Chinese importers of nickel have delayed their negotiations with mining companies in South Africa as the African country will impose a nationwide lockdown from the midnight on March 26, which is aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus. 

SMM expects the disrupted supply of South African nickel to cause little impact on China’s downstream producers. In China’s domestic market, steel mills are the major consumers of South African nickel, which is used as a supplementary resource to Russian nickel as it prices are typically 300-500 yuan/mt lower than Russian nickel. 

Anglo American Platinum, a top mining company in South Africa, said on Tuesday that it has noted the lockdown curbs and “will review the detailed regulations relating to this action that are being published, including in relation to exemptions for certain business activities, and will issue a further statement in due course.

SMM learned that the company’s nickel production stood at about 23,000 mt in metal content in 2019. According to customs data, China imported 8,679 mt of unwrought non-alloy nickel from South Africa in 2019, which accounted for 4.67% of China’s total imports of such materials. 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday that a 21-day lockdown will be imposed from midnight Thursday, and new curbs on which businesses remain open will also be introduced.