World nickel production in H1 2008 down by 3% YoY
steelguru.com
According to the data surveyed and compiled by The Tex Report, the world production of nickel in January to June 2008 period came to 710,000 tonnes, down by 3% YoY as compared with 731,000 tonnes in the same period of 2007. In consequence of that nickel production in the western world ran on a full scale in 2007, the necessity to implement maintenance emerged in the first half of 2008 and some plants were driven to reduce their nickel production.
In addition, owing to an accident on energy supply in Western Australia and the strikes taken place, nickel production in the first half of 2008 was decreased. As regards nickel production in the eastern world, Jinchuan Nickel of China was unable to produce nickel as planned and also Chinese enterprises were obliged to reduce their production of nickel-contained pig iron as this production became unprofitable. Therefore, nickel production in the eastern world decreased by 1% in the first half of 2008 as a whole.
In the course of nickel production for the first half of 2008
1. Vale Inco produced nickel on a full scale at the Voisey's Bay mine of Canada and, consequently, nickel output at this mine doubled
2. BHP Billiton started to operate the Ravensthorpe nickel project of Western Australia from October to December quarter of 2007 and QNI completed an expansion of capacity to refine nickel from this project
3. Sherritt International of Canada commissioned the Moa Bay nickel project in Cuba from April to June quarter of 2008. The operations at these three projects caused to increase nickel production
However, the movements to produce nickel in the western world had rather many cases to decrease than those to increase in the first half of 2008 and the negative cases were maintenances of electric furnaces and melting furnaces implemented in the period. Because of a shortage of raw material and an aftereffect of the accident of electric furnace, Japan produced 79,000 tonnes of nickel in the first half of 2008, having decreased by 6.4% compared with that in the same period of 2007.
An influence on nickel production emerged from an accident of gas supply occurred in June of 2008 has been rather carried over to the second half of 2008 and, in the same case as that of Cawse plant of Norilsk Nickel which was driven to suspend nickel production for a temporary time, nickel plants have been shut down for the time being.
Owing to the strikes taken place, Cerro Matoso of BHP Billiton in Colombia decreased their nickel production in the first half of 2008 by 30% from that in the same period of 2007 and the plant of AAC in Venezuela also decreased their nickel production by 50% compared to that in the same period of 2007.
The matter to produce nickel in the eastern world has had certain changes. Norilsk Nickel of Russia has taken over and consolidated two nickel producers in the western world during a period of the end of 2006 to summer of 2007, having resulted in an increase of nickel production. The two divisions, which are proper producers of nickel in Russia and have been located in Polar and Kola areas, strengthened the lines to melt nickel and increased their nickel production. Norilsk Nickel is scheduled to produce 305,000 tons per annum of nickel in 2008 and will be able to keep the largest producer of nickel in the world.
On the other hand, Jinchuan Nickel, which is a major producer of nickel in China, retreated from the target to produce 120,000 tons per annum of nickel in 2008 and it was known that this Chinese producer is anticipated to shrink their nickel production in 2008 to a scale of 100,0000 to 110,000 tonnes per annum. In order to strengthen the division for copper production, nickel production at Jinchuan Nickel in the second half of 2008 is thought to have a considerable decrease. The production of stainless steel in China for 2008 is estimated to be 7.8 to 8 million tonnes, having put the brake on its growth, and the demand for nickel in 2008 as a whole of China is supposed to decrease to a scale of 345,000 tonnes per annum, which is a lower level than that initially planned.
The plans to decrease nickel production in the second half of 2008 are still sporadically seen. Xstrata Nickel has shut down the Falcondo plant of Dominicana from September and will decrease their production of nickel in ferronickel for 4 months. On the other hand, the factor to increase nickel production is the joint venture between POSCO of South Korea and SMSP of New Caledonia, which is scheduled to perform the first tapping in the middle of October and has the capacity to produce 30,000 tons per annum of nickel in ferronickel at the plant constructed in Kwangyang Works of POSCO. |
