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To: LoneClone who wrote (148295)	12/11/2020 1:31:28 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196234

Nickel: Vale agrees to sale of Vale Nouvelle Calédonie roskill.com Posted 10th December 2020 in ?Industry news. By Olivier Masson The lengthy saga of Vale’s sale of its Vale Nouvelle Calédonie (VNC) asset looks almost over as the company has agreed to sell the plant to Prony Resources, a consortium that brings together New Caledonian investors (which hold a 50% stake in the project) with Trafigura (25% stake) and other international investors. A few days earlier, there had been another twist in the sale process, as Korea Zinc announced that it was withdrawing from a rival bid that had allied the company with Sofinor. Roskill View Although Vale has been in exclusive negotiations with the Prony Resources consortium since early November, pro-independence parties in New Caledonia have been pushing for another bid that includes local group Sofinor and Korea Zinc to be considered, even though it had already been rejected by Vale. Vale recently held two round tables with local interests to go over the various options for the site and issues that local people have. As a result of these talks, Vale had agreed to extend the negotiation period (which was supposed to end on 4 December) to facilitate the sale, while the pro-independence groups agreed to lift various blockades that have affected the plant in recent weeks. For Vale, this finally ends an unhappy foray in New Caledonia. The company has tried to sell the asset on several occasions, and it had to shut down the refinery and focus on intermediate products for the battery industry to make the plant more attractive to a potential bidder. Even after that, a previous consortium led by New Century Resources had withdrawn its bid. The agreement with Prony Resources is subject to regulatory approval and should be finalised in Q1 2021. VNC represents a significant contributor of battery-grade nickel intermediates to the market, especially since the plant’s refinery was closed in early 2020 and focus shifted exclusively to nickel intermediates. Rising demand from EV batteries and, specifically, demand for battery-grade intermediates such as mixed hydroxide product (MHP) for use in nickel sulphate, means the deal will be significant to the industry over the coming years. Roskill’s Nickel: Outlook to 2029 report, 16th Edition and Nickel Sulphate: Outlook to 2029 report, 3rd Edition, both released earlier this year, outline their respective industry trends and forecasts for the next decade amid changes to the global macroeconomic climate. Click here for the full list of Roskill commodity reports Contact the author This article was written by Olivier Masson. Please get in touch below if you wish to discuss further: Contact the author