February 11th (Argus) - French mining group Eramet confirmed on February 11th that the 2026 RKAB nickel ore quota of its subsidiary PT Weda Bay Nickel (WBN) has been significantly reduced to 12 million wet tons (wmt).
WBN (a joint venture with China's Qingshan) received a total of 42 million wet tons of RKAB quota in 2025. When the company submitted its 2026 annual application for RKAB nickel ore in November 2025, it still requested an unchanged quota of 42 million wet tons, including 3 million tons prepared for its nickel iron (NPI) smelter at Veda Bay.
As the world's largest nickel mine, WBN's quota has been significantly reduced by 70%, exacerbating market concerns about the tightening supply of nickel ore. Especially since the Indonesian government has previously stated that the overall RKAB nickel ore quota for 2026 will be reduced to 26-27 million tons. WBN stated that it will submit a new application to strive for a higher quota.
Market participants expect that the nickel price in 2026 may rise further, and they are more worried that as WBN - the main nickel ore supplier of the Veda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) in Indonesia - is restricted, projects within the park may face production limitations and new project delays. The IWIP is located in North Maluku Island, and the projects within the IWIP park include: Huafei: an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons of nickel metal equivalent; the newly commissioned Blue Sparking Energy (BSE): an annual production capacity of 67,000 tons of nickel metal equivalent of the MHP project; several NPI and matte smelters (high-temperature matte).
According to Argus data, IWIP's nickel production in 2025 was approximately 550,000 tons of nickel metal equivalent, making it the largest nickel production center in Indonesia, surpassing the Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) located on the South Sulawesi Island.
