PT Vale and China’s GEM partner for $1.4 billion Indonesian nickel plant
The plant will process nickel laterite ore from the Vale unit into 66,000 tons of mixed hydroxide precipitate annually.
A lawsuit bought by Elliott Associates and Jane Street Global Trading against the London Metal Exchange (LME) for cancelling nickel trades will to be heard in a London court on June 20-22, the LME said on its website.
US-based Elliott and Jane Street are demanding damages of $456.4 million and $15.34 million respectively, after the nickel price doubled to more than $100,000 a tonne on March 8, last year, prompting the LME to suspend nickel trading and void transactions made that day.
A judicial review hearing will take place over three days beginning on June 20 to determine whether the LME acted lawfully, the 146-year-old LME said.
A second trial would be held to decide on remedies if the LME was found at fault, it added.
Elliott and Jane Street allege the LME acted unlawfully, breached its published policies, was disproportionate, favoured some market participants over others and violated their rights under the European Convention of Human Rights to the “peaceful enjoyment” of possessions, according to documents filed last July.
The LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, is resisting the claims, saying unprecedented market conditions caused a “disorderly” market and that it wanted to protect stability and avoid multiple defaults.
Other lawsuits have been filed by other hedge funds, but they will be on hold until the result of the initial case.
“As these lawsuits do not raise any issues that are not already the subject of the claims brought by Elliott and Jane Street, the parties have agreed a stay of these additional lawsuits,” the LME said.
(By Eric Onstad; Editing by Mark Potter)
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