One Low-Grade NPI Plant in Shandong Suspends Output, SMM Learns

China produced 848,500 mt of copper cathode in March, up 8.42% MoM and down 5.79% YoY, according to SMM statistics.

The SMM average price of 8-12% high-grade NPI stood at 1,307.5 yuan/mtu (ex-works, including tax) on Friday January 7, up 12.5 yuan/mtu from a week earlier, and the average price of Indonesian high-grade NPI stood at 1,310 yuan/mtu (including tax, delivery to ports), 20 yuan/mtu higher than a week earlier.

The SMM average price of 8-12% high-grade NPI stood at 1,480 yuan/mtu (ex-works, including tax) on Friday November 12, down 15 yuan/mtu from a week earlier, and the average price of Indonesian NPI stood at 1,475 yuan/mtu (including tax, delivery to ports), a decline of 17.5 yuan/mtu from a week earlier.

Zhongwei shares issued an announcement last night that, in view of the company's continued optimism in the high nickel matte recovered from nickel laterite smelting, its wholly-owned subsidiary Zhongwei Hong Kong New Energy reached a supplementary agreement with RIGQUEZA to make additional investments in the joint venture PT.ZhongTsing New Energy. The two parties agreed to build a new laterite smelting project in Indonesia (Phase II) with an annual production capacity of 30,000 m of high nickel matte in metal content on top of Phase I project.

The current tightness of NPI, coupled with the upward trend in cost-end prices (mainly rising electricity prices) and the reduction in NPI output caused by power rationing, has made the problem of NPI shortage more difficult to solve.

SMM data showed that China’s alumina output was 6.20 million mt in September, including 5.99 million mt of metallurgical grade alumina. The daily average output of metallurgical grade alumina was 199,500 mt, up 0.46% on the month and 5.05% on the year.

The NPI profits based on nickel ore purchased 25 days earlier changed little last week, according to the latest SMM survey.

Domestic zinc output stood at 508900 mt in August 2021, down 1.22% or 6300 mt on the month and 0.04% on the year, according to SMM. Cumulative output in January-August totalled 4.042 million mt, a year-on-year increase of 4.47%. Alloy output at domestic zinc smelters in SMM’s survey sample was 75,500 mt in August, up 80 mt on the month.

The Group for Air Pollution Prevention and Control in Handan City, Hebei, issued a plan on September 1 for limiting production in key industries from September 1 to October 31, which further strengthened the production restrictions.

China’s polysilicon output hit a new high at 43,100 mt in August, up 3.9% on the month and 62% on the year.