[SMM Nickel Flash] Tailings Dam Incident at Nickel Intermediate Product Projects in Indonesian Industrial Park

The fundamental challenge in the 304 stainless steel industrial chain is Instrument Asymmetry, a scenario where the dominant cost driver, Nickel Pig Iron (NPI), lacks a direct futures contract and forces participants to manage 75% of their risk using standardized proxies like pure nickel. This creates a lethal threat not from price volatility itself, but from the Basis Risk that occurs when physical assets and hedging tools decouple.

The nickel intermediate product market experienced a holiday-induced stagnation, with coefficients remaining unchanged.

Nickel Industries Limited (NIC) has announced that its Hengjaya Mine received a significantly increased RKAB quota of 14.3 million wet metric tonnes (wmt) for 2026, up from the previous 9.0 million wmt. This approved volume is strategically allocated to supply 6.0 million wmt of saprolite to the Company’s RKEF operations at IMIP, while the remaining 8.3 million wmt will fully meet the limonite demand for the ENC HPAL project. Following the submission of final documentation, the Company plans to apply for further quota increases during the mid-year and year-end revision windows to support the ramp-up of the ENC project.