Chinese Macrolink Mineral Co is planning to put its Indonesian nickel facility into operation at the end of July this year, with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of gross weight per year, it has said.
Macrolink Mineral is planning to use two units of 80 stere blast furnaces to produce nickel products, according to an official at the company.
China imported a record-breaking 107,161 tonnes of ferro-nickel (tax code 72026000, including nickel pig iron) in April, according to Chinese customs data.
Indonesia was the biggest source of Chinese imported ferro-nickel, with 83,868 tonnes coming from the country in April, Metal Bulletin reported earlier.
Nickel prices have been strongly affected by Indonesia’s ore export ban in recent years. After the ban was imposed by the Jakarta government in January 2014, London Metal Exchange three-month nickel prices touched a 27-month high of $21,625 per tonne in May 2014, amid concerns about the prospect of a shortage of nickel ore supply.
But since May 2014, LME three-month nickel prices have been dragged down by surges in LME nickel stocks, as metals flooded out of China due to the Qingdao scandal. The metal hit a 21-month low of $7,550 per tonne in February 2016 as a result.
Nickel was trading at $8,725 per tonne on the LME at opening on Wednesday June 8.
Source: Metal Bulletin
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