SMM6, 17 March: the PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama (CNI) nickel smelter in Sulawesi, Indonesia, is currently under construction.

According to SMM, the smelter is currently under construction and is expected to go into production in the second half of this year, with a nickel content of 10 to 11 percent and an annual ore consumption of less than 5 million tons. PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama's original 2.3 million tonne quota expired in July 18 and reapplied for a 2.1 million tonne quota at the end of 18 years, valid until December 2019.

Derian Sakmiwata, president of PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama, said the total investment reached 14.4 trillion rupiah ($100m).

At the same time, the establishment of the smelter can also promote the economic development of the local area to a certain extent.

With the continuous development of the electric vehicle market, the huge demand for electric vehicles has also had an impact on Indonesia, promoting the vigorous development of the Indonesian nickel industry. Nickel is expected to replace palm oil as the main export product of Indonesia.

Indonesia is rich in nickel deposits, about 3.5 billion wet tons, of which about 60 per cent are low-grade laterite nickel deposits. Indonesia led the world in nickel production last year, according to a report by the U.S. Geological Survey (US Geological Survey).

Although stainless steel production still accounts for about 70 per cent of the nickel market terminal demand, nickel is also a key raw material in most lithium-ion batteries, on a par with cobalt.

In recent days, in addition to focusing on the vigorous development of the Indonesian nickel industry brought about by the development of electric power, the extreme weather in Sulawesi has also gripped the heartstrings of the nickel market.

A few days ago, widespread floods broke out on the island of Sulawesi, suspending some mining projects and causing nickel prices to soar. According to SMM research, a nickel iron factory in southeastern Sulawesi last Thursday, due to the inability to feed and affect production, late recovery depends on the weather changes, according to SMM research, the furnace itself has not been damaged, if the later weather improved, recovery or more smooth. "correlation Analysis-[SMM Analysis] the price of nickel rose sharply and ferronickel remained stable and did not disagree with both buyers and sellers.