Sydney, June 17th (Argus) - Australian producer Nickel Industries, focused on business in Indonesia, announced that it plans to start the production of metallic nickel and nickel sulfate at the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt (ENC) project in Sulawesi by mid-August.
The company stated that the ENC project, with an annual output of 72,000 tons of nickel, will gradually ramp up production to the designed capacity from October to December. Nickel Industries holds a 46% stake in ENC (located in the Morowali Industrial Park), and in May, it received the first batch of limonite from its 80%-owned Hengjaya mine and plans to complete the commissioning of the first piece of equipment in the sulfuric acid plant and three high-pressure reactors by June 28th.
ENC is expected to produce the first batch of mixed hydroxide precipitates (MHP) in mid-July. Subsequently, its smelting and leaching systems will process MHP into metallic nickel through the HPAL process, with the timeline being mid-August. At that time, the company will promote the registration and delivery of ENC's metallic nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE).
Nickel Industries informed Argus on June 17th that the annual output of 72,000 tons of ENC will be flexibly switched between MHP, metallic nickel, and nickel sulfate, depending on market spreads and demand cycles. The company can either directly sell MHP to electric vehicle battery factories or further process it into high-purity sulfuric acid nickel or LME standard metallic nickel.
This year, Nickel Industries has raised the production quota of the Indonesian government-approved work plan and budget (RKAB) nickel mine output to 14.3 million wet tons and plans to apply for additional quotas to support the ramp-up of ENC.
Nickel Industries will operate ENC together with Shanghai Decent Investment (44% stake) and Korean alloy producer Sphere (10% stake).
The Argus-assessed FOB 37% nickel price in Indonesian terms for MHP on June 16th was $166.80 per nickel point, lower than $171.90 per nickel point on June 7th.
