2020 Chronicle of the Nickel Industry | the New deal of Indo-Philippine Mining, Mine shutdown, New capacity expansion ….

Looking back at 2020, the production of many nickel mining projects was affected by the epidemic, and rumors about whether Indonesia would continue to ban the export of nickel ore also stirred the market nerves at the beginning of the year, and many new nickel mining projects were produced this year. In addition, Musk's strong interest in nickel resources has also aroused heated discussion in the market.

The transportation of raw materials from some nickel and iron plants in Wulanchabu is expected to be blocked in Inner Mongolia to meet a wide range of Snow Warning cooling.

On January 7, a large-scale Snow Warning cooling weather process will occur in the region from west to east, and there will be moderate to heavy snow in many parts of the central and western regions. According to SMM, a large area of Snow Warning in Inner Mongolia has caused road blockades in some areas, and some nickel and iron factories in Wulanchabu area have been blocked due to road closure. If the road closure lasts for a short time, most of the inventory in the plant can maintain normal production, and if the heavy snow lasts for a long time, it may have a certain impact on the output of ferronickel in the area in January. "View details

Antam plans to increase Nickel sales in 2020 and Speed up the Construction of its Ferro Nickel smelter

Mining company PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTM) said it will continue to look for opportunities to improve its performance this year, and ANTM will maximize the performance of its three main commodities, namely gold, nickel and bauxite. As of October last year, the development of ANTM's ferronickel smelter project in East Hama Hera had reached 98%. Since 2016, ANTM has invested 3.5 trillion rupiah and has been effectively utilized. At the same site, ANTM also continued to use blast furnace technology to develop the low-grade nickel pig iron (NPI) project. The NPI blast furnace project will consist of eight production lines with a capacity of 320000 tons of NPI or the equivalent of 30000 tons of (TNi).

Santa Rita Nickel Mine in Brazil has resumed production

Santa Rita Nickel Mine in Brazil, one of the largest open-pit nickel sulphide mines in the world, has resumed production. Atlantic Nickel, the company's operator, announced on Monday that the first nickel concentrate acquired by the company in 2018 would be resold. Atlantic Nickel said it had signed a three-year outsourcing contract with Trafigura, a global commodities trading company, to take over some of Santa Rita's production and reach a $40.8 million financing agreement.

The Earthquake nickel mine with a magnitude of 5.5 occurred in the central Philippines has no impact for the time being.

March 2, according to the Philippine Volcano Earthquake Research Institute, March 2 around 05:19, the central Philippines, Leyte Province, near the city of Leyte 5.5 Earthquake occurred. According to SMM, the central city of Leyte, Leyte Province, where Earthquake occurred, is far away from the mining area and has no impact for the time being.

Sherritt transfers mining equity and withdraws from Ambatovy Nickel Joint Venture

Sherritt International Corp, a Canadian mining company, announced that it would leave the Ambatovy nickel joint venture in Madagascar and transfer its 12% stake in the nickel plant to two partners, including Japan's Sumitomo. Under the shareholder agreement, Sherritt waived its voting rights and influence over the operation of the plant. The mine and the Ambatovy plant produced 33733 tons of refined nickel and 2900 tons of refined cobalt in 2019.

Message confirmed! The document banning the entry of ships from any country in North Suriname, the Philippines has been signed.

On March 15, affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic, the Philippine port city of Surinago will be blocked from March 18 to March 31, banning all foreign ships entering the country, but there was no official document to confirm it yesterday. Surinago is one of the main producing areas of nickel mines in the Philippines, and the quality of nickel ore in the mining area is good, but at present the Suriko area is still in the state of rainy season, which can gradually return to normal in April according to past experience. If the blockade is implemented, it is expected to affect some exports of medium-grade nickel mines, but the impact is expected to be small because the ban time is still in the rainy season.

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Affected by the epidemic, Ifishdeco plans to revise the production and sales target of nickel mine this year.

In order to alleviate the situation that the pandemic has hindered the production and sales of nickel in Indonesia, PT Ifishdeco Tbk (IFSH), one of the nickel companies, has begun to revise its production target this year. Crystal Pranoto (Christo Pranoto), company secretary of Ifishdeco, revealed that production and sales of the Ifishdeco nickel mine in the first quarter were not significantly affected by the epidemic.

Glencore: Raglan Nickel Mine and Matagami Zinc Mine affected by the epidemic will stop Mining

Glencore announced on March 27th that it had taken a number of precautions against COVID-19, in office and industrial assets. So far, large businesses have not been materially affected, but many small mines have had to restrict or stop operations. Glencore produces 59800 tons of nickel in the Integrated Nickel Operations (INO) project (Sudbury, Raglan, Nikkelverk) 2019. The Matagami zinc mine has an output of 43800 tons in 2019. "View details

How is the suspension of mining by Sumitomo Ambatovy nickel mine affected by the domestic nickel supply side?

On March 26th, Sumitomo Corporation announced the suspension of mining operations due to COVID-19 (silver, zinc, lead and nickel mining projects). Sumitomo hereby announced that in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, it will temporarily suspend the silver, zinc and lead mining project Minera San Cristobal in Bolivia and the Ambatovy nickel project in Malaysia. "View details

The ban has been upgraded! Nickel mining and processing are prohibited in the North Suri Highlands of the Philippines

With the escalation of the ban in the Philippines, all mining and production and processing will be suspended in the North Suriko area from April 1st, with the exception of the tubay and tawi areas, the remaining mining areas will be affected by the ban. The total Philippine imports in April 2019 were about 2.4054 million tons (customs data, dry-wet mixture). Based on customs data in January / February 2020, imports were expected to be close to 2.5 million tons in April, but according to the latest ban, it may affect about 70 per cent of imports in April. "View details

Affected by the epidemic, Nickel Asia in the Philippines stops nickel ore mining and export business.

On April 8, Nickel Asia Corp of the Philippines said that in response to the call of the local government, it had decided to suspend nickel ore mining and export operations in (Surigao del Norte) in the southern province of North Suriname. The high government in North Suri will "strengthen community quarantine" as part of a national effort to contain the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Philippines' second largest nickel ore exporter suspends mining operations

Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc, the second largest nickel producer and exporter in the Philippines, said it had decided to suspend mining operations to allay concerns about the spread of COVID-19 's epidemic. The miner said in a statement that it had decided to comply with a call from the local government of North Surinho province to stop operations. Previously, all of the miner's ore production was sent to China.

Panoramic Resources: suspension of operations at Savannah Nickel Mine in East Kimberley, Western Australia

On 15 April, Panoramic Resources suspended operations at the Savannah Nickel Mine in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia due to the continuing impact of the epidemic. The temporary shutdown has affected many aspects of (Savannah) operations in Savannah, including transportation, personnel availability and the cost of equipment and supplies.

Indonesia issues new rules to set minimum prices for nickel mines

Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has revised the rules on mineral prices, including setting floor prices for nickel mines, Indonesian Coal and Mineral Resources Director-General Bambang Gatot Ariyono said on Thursday. The rule is designed to prevent local smelters from buying ore at too low prices, especially after the country bans the export of raw nickel ore. The revised law was signed on April 14, but was made public only on Thursday and will come into force on May 14.

The two major nickel miners in the Philippines have resumed operations since May 1.

Two major nickel miners in the Philippines said on Tuesday that they expected to gradually resume mining and shipping work in the country's main ore production areas from May 1, after suspending work to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Nickel Asia), an Asian nickel company, and (Global Ferronickel Holdings), a global nickel holding company, are preparing to restart operations in North Suriga in the southern Karaga region, where restrictions are expected to be relaxed after April 30th, company executives said.

Is it rumored that the nickel mine will open for export? New official response! New Progress of Indonesian Mining "Minerba" Act announced

On May 19th, Indonesia approved the amendment to Law No. 4 of 2009 on mineral and coal mining (Minerba), also known as Minerba Law. The amendment to the Minerba Act provides for many important aspects. These range from license issuing agencies, license expansion, regulation of people's mining license (IPR) and environmental aspects, downstream, divestment, to arrangements that claim to strengthen the (BUMN) of state-owned enterprises. Yunus said his party had no plans to reopen exports of low-grade nickel mines, and that the export ban had accelerated since January 1, 2020. The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 11 of 2019 provides for a ban on accelerating the export of low-grade nickel ores. This means that as long as there is no new Permen, ban on nickel exports will still apply. For nickel mines, exports are still banned and the government has no plans to relax.

Vale sells Nickel and Cobalt assets of its Canadian subsidiary

May 26, Vale announced that its subsidiary Vale Canada Co., Ltd. (VCL) has reached an exclusive agreement with Australia's New Century Resources Limited (New Century Resources Co., Ltd. According to the agreement, Vale will negotiate the sale of its company in Nouvelle- al é donie S.A.S. Ownership, including its nickel and cobalt assets. The negotiations include a financial package designed to support the transition and continuity of VNC operations from VCL to NCZ, while the two sides also plan to work with France to ensure continued financial support.

BHP Billiton plans to acquire a nickel mine of Nornickel in Western Australia

On June 22nd, BHP Billiton will buy a set of nickel mining rights in Western Australia from the world's largest high-grade nickel producer and Russian mining giant Nornickel for an undisclosed amount. The proposed acquisition will include Nornickel's new nickel development project, the, Honeymoon Well nickel development project, and (JV), a joint venture between Albion Downs North and Jericho in the northern Goldfields region.

Musk calls on miners to increase nickel mining: a huge contract will be offered

"if you mine nickel efficiently in an environmentally friendly way, Tesla will provide you with a huge contract for a long time," Musk, CEO of electric car manufacturers, said on a second-quarter earnings call. " At the same time, he said Tesla's next automatic assembly plant will be set up in Austin, Texas.

Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources reopens previously closed mining companies

(DENR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines, will allow mining companies closed by Genna Lopez (Gina Lopez) to resume operations. Lopez's successor, former Army General Roy Simatu (Roy Cimatu), confirmed in a briefing on Wednesday July 22nd that the Ministry of Defense and Natural Resources audit team had made recommendations during the inspection of the mine. During her tenure as environment minister, (Lopez) briefly ordered the closure of about 26 mining companies, citing various violations. Cimatu did not name the mining companies, but assured the public that they had corrected their mistakes.

Flood causes Weda Bay to suspend operation of nickel smelter in Indonesia

(IWIP), the operator of the nickel smelter, the Weda Bay Industrial Park in Indonesia, said it had stopped operation of the smelter because of the flood. The smelter is controlled by China Qingshan holding Group and France's Eramet. Part of the industrial park on Indonesia's Hama Hera island was flooded on Wednesday after two days of torrential rain, IWIP said in a statement. Weda Bay began operation in April this year with an annual output of 30000 tons.

Boliden: plans to increase production capacity of its Finnish nickel smelter by 20%

(Boliden), a Swedish miner, plans to expand its Finnish nickel smelter by 40 million euros ($47.5 million), with the aim of increasing its raw material capacity by nearly 20% while reducing emissions by the same amount. Boliden Harjavalta's expansion projects include new concentrate dryers, improved electric furnaces and granulation capacity, and automatic tapping of molten metal. This will increase the supply capacity of raw materials from 310000 tons / year to 370000 tons / year.

Diligent Resources & the signing ceremony of Green-Mei Strategic sales Agreement

Since the construction of Indonesia Wet smelting Nickel Cobalt HPAL Project, which is invested and operated by Liqin Resources, it has been widely concerned by all sessions of the industry. Recently, the project company has signed a strategic sales agreement with Green Mei Co., Ltd., a very influential battery material customer in the industry. The senior officials of the two sides attached great importance to the cooperation and held a formal signing ceremony in Jingmen Park of Greenmei on August 29.

Shengtun Mining Industry: Youshan Nickel has an annual output of 34000 tons of nickel metal and high matte nickel project No. 1 electric furnace successfully produces the first batch of ferronickel.

At the 37th meeting of the ninth board of directors of Shengtun Mining Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Shengtun Mining" or "the Company"), the 37th meeting of the Board of Directors of Shengtun Mining Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Shengtun Mining" or "the Company") examined and adopted the "motion on investing in the project of investing in a project with an annual output The joint venture company Youshan Nickel Indonesia Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Youshan Nickel") carries out the construction of a high nickel matte project with an annual output of 34000 tons of nickel.

BHP Billiton: Nickel West nickel salt plant delays production in the first half of 2021

September 18, BHP Billiton said in the company's annual report that the plant is scheduled to start production in 1H20, but is still under construction. The plant, located at the Kwinana nickel refinery, is now ready for launch and production of the first batch of products sometime in the first half of 2021. In the first phase of the work, BHP Billiton set a target of 100000 tons of nickel sulfate per year. BHP Billiton also confirmed in its report that progress is being made in the construction of three new mines at, Nickel West. The Keith Mountain (Yakabindie) satellite mine was put into production in December 2019 and is now the main source of raw material for the Keith Mountain Concentrator.

Zhongjin Nickel Iron smelting Project of Liugang was put into production in the fourth quarter.

September 28, according to Liugang Group, Liugang Zhongjin Ni-Fe smelting project is also planned to be put into production in the fourth quarter of this year. According to reports, the construction of the Zhongjin Ni-Fe smelting project of Liugang with a total investment of 5.6 billion yuan was started in January 2019. After it is completed and put into production, it can achieve an annual output of 1.46 million tons of pig iron, 300000 tons of high-carbon ferrochromium and 100000 tons of high-nickel iron, with an annual operating income of 14.3 billion yuan, a total annual profit of 890 million yuan, and a tax revenue of more than 1.2 billion yuan, driving 2000 people to employment.

Global Ferronickel of the Philippines will increase its nickel ore sales to Baosteel Group by 30% next year.

(Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc, the second largest nickel ore producer in the Philippines, said on Wednesday that it had agreed to sell 1.3 million wet tons of nickel ore to China Baosteel Resources International Co., Ltd. (Baosteel Resources) for delivery next year, 30 per cent higher than this year.

Sumitomo Corporation: the Ambatovy Nickel-Cobalt Mine will resume operation next year and will produce 3, 000 tons of nickel in the first quarter.

Sumitomo (Sumitomo Corp) said it plans to resume operations at the Ambatovy nickel mine in Madagascar in February after halting their production in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, with a current target of producing 3000 tons of nickel in the January-March quarter. Hiroyuki Sugai, the company's chief financial officer, said at a news conference that Sumitomo may make additional write-downs on the project based on metal prices and the production plans under review.

Tesla plans to build a battery factory in Indonesia to take a fancy to Indonesia's largest nickel reserves in the world.

According to Indonesian media reports, Tesla is planning to build a factory in Batang, central Java, Indonesia. Indonesia was chosen mainly because Indonesia has the largest nickel reserves in the world. Tesla's plan to build a factory in Indonesia is still being explored. According to Indonesian Industry Minister (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang, communication between the Indonesian government and the company owned by Elon Musk (Elon Musk) continues. In addition, Minister of Maritime and Investment Coordination TNI (Purn) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan also claimed that he had been summoned by Tesla about plans to build a factory in Indonesia. It should be noted that the factory that Tesla will build in Indonesia is not an automobile assembly plant, but for the production of electric vehicle batteries.

Nickel Mines: acquires 70% stake in Angel Nickel Nickel Project for US $490 million

Nickel Mines, an Australian company, has signed an agreement with its partner Shanghai Decent Investment to buy a 70 per cent stake in Indonesia's Angel Nickel project at a price of A $490 million. The project is located in (IWIP), Veda Bay Industrial Park, Indonesia. It consists of four rotary kiln furnace (RKEF) production lines and a 380MW self-contained power station, which is currently under construction in IWIP.

Pure Minerals and SDI sign a Memorandum of understanding on Nickel off-take to purchase 6, 000 tons of nickel per year.

, Pure Minerals Ltd (ASX:PM1) entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Samsung SDI Co Ltd (MOU), to provide nickel from the TECH project, which is 100 per cent owned by its wholly owned subsidiary, Queensland Pacific (Queensland Pacific). Samsung SDI is a global leader in lithium-ion battery manufacturing and seeks to buy up to 6000 tons of nickel a year from the TECH project.

Guan Xuan! Vale officially sells its New Caledonian Nickel assets VNC

On 9 December, Vale issued an announcement informing its subsidiary Vale Canada Limited (VCL) that it had signed a binding put option agreement to sell it at Vale Nouvelle- Cale é donie S.A.S. The ownership (VNC) of. Vale said today's news marked the success of discussions on VNC's transition from VCL to a continuing business and a new ownership structure with significant domestic participation, taking into account the goal of social and environmental responsibility, in particular the launch of a dry stacking project called Lucy. It also pledged to continue to implement all the commitments of the Convention on Sustainable Development of the Great South and to maintain sustainable interests to New Caledonia in particular the Kanaks of Southern University.

Operation of Nouvelle-Cal é donie Nickel-Cobalt Mine in Vale suspended due to protest

On December 10th, Vale announced that independent activists in New Caledonia had safely evacuated Nouvelle- Caldonie SAS (VNC) after an overnight protest at the site and its vicinity. The factory is currently under the protection of the gendarmerie (army) and has ceased operation until safe work and community conditions are widespread. The company's employees are not injured, there is no environmental damage or industrial accidents, and operations are being shut down in a safe and controlled manner.