BHP Billiton scraps sale of Nickel West division
The world's largest mining company has scrapped the sale of Nickel West and will continue operating the unit after failing to find a buyer at the right price.
The world's largest mining company has scrapped the sale of Nickel West and will continue operating the unit after failing to find a buyer at the right price.
After a brutal two-month sell-off, the nickel price is recovering as Chinese port stocks are depleted and global stainless steel output picks up.
The miner beat estimates after logging a 16% jump in Q3 nickel production, taking total output of the metal this year to 201,400 metric tons.
The all-powerful U.S. dollar is currently hammering base metals and base metal equities. Haywood Securities Mining Analyst Stefan Ioannou says that increasing demand and near-term supply shortages make base metals a bargain that won't last.
The agreement signed with Indonesia’s outgoing government also means higher royalties to be paid by the firm.
The polar class vessel is loaded with a cargo of nickel concentrate from Nunavik’s Deception Bay destined for the port of Bayuquan, northern China.
An average nickel price of US$20,000 per tonne has been forecast for Australian nickel producers in 2015 – but the sector has been urged to keep its grass roots focus on untapped potential nickel discoveries in Australia, rather than overseas.
Vale’s companywide nickel production in the second quarter of 2014 was 61,600 tonnes, an 8.6% drop from the first quarter and 5.3% fall from the year-ago period.
Filipino supply worries, depleting Chinese stocks and Indonesian refinery delays could see nickel rise close to $30,000 a tonne.
Nickel prices have surged this year, making rationalization and cost-cutting in the Sudbury basin less urgent.