(Bloomberg) — Indonesia is squeezing supplies of nickel ore to protect smaller local miners as the market for the battery metal endures a prolonged slump, according to Eramet SA.
The French miner, which operates the world’s largest nickel mine in Indonesia’s North Maluku province, was this year given a sales quota by the Asian nation that was 29% less than it expected, causing its share price to plunge in October.
The government curbs were meant to protect local miners from the global slump in prices, but also led to a shift in production to higher-grade ores used to make stainless steel. That reduced local supply of battery-grade nickel ore, forcing local smelters — which are key to Indonesia’s ambitions to become a major player in electric vehicles — to turn to more expensive imports.
For the rest of this article: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/11/22/indonesia-curbing-nickel-supply-to-support-locals-eramet-says/