Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Madagascar’s nickel and cobalt miner Ambatovy has shut down a pipeline supplying ore from its mine in the country’s east to a processing and refinery plant due to damage, its major shareholder Sumitomo Corp said.
As Ambatovy continues to assess the impact on operations and the timeline for recovery, traders said that the incident could tighten supplies in the cobalt market if the stoppage goes on for more than two months.
The cause of the damage to the slurry pipeline, which occurred on Sept. 25, is being investigated, Sumitomo said in a statement on Monday, adding that no injuries were reported.
The Japanese trading house has been struggling to stabilize production and improve profitability at the Ambatovy project, which launched in 2005.
The project produced about 8,000 metric tons of nickel during the April-June quarter, down from about 10,000 tons a year earlier, Sumitomo said in July. It expects annual production of 35,000 tons for the year to March 31.
It did not disclose its cobalt production. According to Darton Commodities, Ambatovy produced 3,390 tons of cobalt last year.
Sumitomo owns a 54.2% stake in the project companies – Ambatovy Minerals, a mining company, and Dynatec Madagascar, a refining company – while the remaining stake is held by Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources.
The Ambatovy nickel project companies filed a debt restructuring plan with a court in London in August. Sumitomo Corp said at that time that the filing was part of their effort to ensure the stable and efficient operation of the project, not a liquidation process.
(By Pratima Desai and Polina Devitt; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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