According to vale's report, the company produced 168,000 tons of nickel in 2021, down 15,700 tons from 2020, mainly due to:
1) Labour disruption at the Sudbury plant, which has an impact on the production of nickel concentrate processed at the Copper Cliff smelter from nickel ore produced at Thompson;
2) Reduced production of finished nickel from nickel ore produced in Indonesia plant (PTVI) due to travel restrictions caused by COVID-19 that delayed blast furnace maintenance from 2021 to 2022, resulting in lower production efficiency of high matte.
In addition, the production of finished nickel from nickel ore produced at Voisey's Bay increased thanks to the improved performance of the Longport refinery. The company's nickel production guidance for 2022 is 175,000 to 190,000 tons.
