Nickel Laterites – Page 48 – Republic of Mining

[Australia nickel] Palmer squeezes back into refinery driver’s seat – by Ben Hagemann (Australian Mining – March 8, 2016)

March 8, 2016

http://www.australianmining.com.au/news

In a move long awaited by many, Clive Palmer taken responsibility for his business interests and swooped in to save the day for the Yabulu Refinery.

After months of insisting that both the Queensland and federal governments support his ailing business, which was used to donate millions to his Palmer United political party, Palmer has finally bitten the bullet and fronted $23 million in funding to keep the Yabulu nickel refinery from being closed down.

However, the new conditional fund facility has been introduced through a new company called Queensland Nickel Sales Pty Ltd, which will replace Queensland Nickel as manager of the Yabulu Refinery.

Buyer for Yabulu looks remote with sector in ‘huge’ global crisis – by Tony Raggatt (Townsville Bulletin – March 1, 2016)

March 1, 2016

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/

Nickel is fickle

ANY chance of a potential suitor buying Clive Palmer’s Yabulu refinery looks remote with the nickel sector in the midst of a huge global crisis and massive losses.

The nickel division of the French Eramet group this month recorded losses of $400 million in 2015 and the French Government has undertaken to support New Caledonia’s nickel plants in Noumea and Koniambo.

Last week West Australian nickel miner and processor Western Areas reported a first-half $20 million loss and the giant Anglo American is understood to be looking to sell its $1 billion nickel division.

Indonesian lawmakers hope to revise mining law by September – by Wilda Asmarini and Randy Fabi (Reuters U.S. – February 29, 2016)

February 29, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA, Feb 29 Indonesian lawmakers hope to revise the country’s resource rules by September in a move that could include easing of export curbs on minerals, such as nickel and copper, giving Freeport McMoRan Inc and other miners time and money to build smelters.

A parliamentary commission is discussing possible revisions to a 2014 law – which banned exports of nickel, bauxite and copper ores and set a three-year limit on concentrates sales to force firms to build smelters but instead ended up costing Indonesia billions of dollars in lost revenue.

“If they are not allowed to export, the economy could be destroyed,” Kurtubi, a member of the commission responsible for drafting the proposed revisions, told Reuters.

Ravensthorpe mine sale fails to attract bidders – by Bridget Carter and Gretchen Friemann (The Australian – March 1, 2016)

February 29, 2016

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

There are fresh concerns about the future of the Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia’s southwest, with a sales process said to have failed to attract a single bid.

The apparent lack of interest in the mine has prompted talk that its owner, Canadian-listed First Quantum Resources, may look to shut down the operation. Ravensthorpe has a short but turbulent history.

It suffered a number of cost blowouts and delays when being built by BHP Billiton, eventually opening in 2008 after costing $US2.2 billion to build.

The mining giant shut the mine less than a year later because of a low nickel price, costing 1800 jobs.

UPDATE 1-Madagascar’s Ambatovy mine says new tax rules halt nickel shipments (Reuters U.S. – February 18, 2016)

February 18, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Feb 18 The Madagascan arm of Sherritt International said on Thursday containers carrying nickel had been prevented from leaving the island’s Toamasina port due to new regulations, and unless the situation changed the mine could only stay open for a week.

The $7 billion Ambatovy mining project, 40 percent owned and operated by Sherritt, has been hit by record low nickel prices and management has been forced to lay off more than 1,000 of its workforce over the past year.

Ambatovy said in a statement it was seeking a meeting with Madagascan President Hery Rajaonarimampianina to discuss new Advance Cargo Declaration (ACD) regulations, which levy a $100 fee on every shipping container, as it believes it should not be applied to Ambatovy.

Sherritt CEO: Not Enough Transparency on Nickel Supply and Demand From China (Bloomberg TV Canada – February 11, 2016)

February 12, 2016

http://bloombergtv.ca/ Canadian nickel miner Sherritt International’s President and CEO, David Pathe, joins Bloomberg TV Canada’s Pamela Ritchie to discuss the dramatic plunge in the stainless steel making commodity and what a significant role supply and demand from China plays in the market.

As pressure on BHP and Glencore grows, Australia cuts may signal nickel revival – by Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – February 10, 2016)

February 10, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE – Australian nickel miners are under increasing pressure to suspend or cut production, with investors eyeing key announcements in coming weeks after rival producers in New Caledonia won a pledge of support from France.

Benchmark prices of the steel-making material have fallen more than 45 percent since early 2015 to their lowest since 2003, and are seen grinding lower amid ample global stocks and slowing property growth in top consumer China.

Glencore and BHP Billiton, whose high-cost Murrin Murrin and Nickel West facilities are struggling to sustain operations, are both due to make production and profit reports in coming weeks. News of any output cuts could buoy prices.

France says will help nickel industry in New Caledonia (Reuters U.S. – February 6, 2016)

February 8, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

PARIS – Feb 6 France committed on Saturday to support the nickel sector in the Pacific territory of New Caledonia which has been severely hit by a slump in prices amid a mounting supply glut.

The main nickel players on the island are Eramet in which France is the second shareholder, miner and commodity trader Glencore and Brazil’s Vale, the world’s leading iron ore producer.

“Measures will be taken soon to consolidate all the sectors of mining and metallurgy,” a summary of a meeting between Prime Minister Manuel Valls and local representatives said on Saturday, without giving further details.

Commodity Markets Weighed Down By A New Factor, Environmental Metal – by Tim Treadgold (Forbes Magazine – February 4, 2016)

February 5, 2016

http://www.forbes.com/

In theory nickel, a steel-hardening metal, should be poised for a big price recovery as high-cost material is driven from a depressed market, but that’s before a new factor started to influence the business of nickel mining, environmental metal.

Similar in character to another non-market price driver, social metal, the new influence is entirely man made or, to be more specific, government made.

Social metal has been around for decades and is most evident in South American copper-mining countries where governments keep loss-making copper mines open as a way of maintaining employment to avoid social unrest.

Is the party over for Clive Palmer? – by Jamie Smyth (Financial Times – February 1, 2016)

February 1, 2016

http://www.ft.com/

Sydney – In November 2010, Clive Palmer donned a Santa hat and posed in front of photographers as he gave A$10m of Christmas bonuses, including 55 Mercedes cars, to staff at Townsville’s Yabula nickel refinery.

It was the height of the commodities boom and the Australian mining magnate, who later turned his hand to politics, was celebrating the success of his acquisition of Queensland Nickel from BHP Billiton in 2009.

“It [Queensland Nickel] provides me with about US$250m of beer money a year. That’s why I’ve got larger and fatter, thanks to BHP,” he later joked to mining executives.

But the subsequent collapse in nickel prices has put paid to celebrations at Queensland Nickel, which was placed in administration last month with debts of A$100m.

Nickel price bloodbath in Western Australia as Mincor, Panoramic announce closures – by Tess Ingram (Sydney Morning Herald – January 27, 2016)

January 27, 2016

http://www.smh.com.au/

The sustained decline in the nickel price has forced three more West Australian operations into suspension at the cost of more than 100 jobs, as the toll of the price crash mounts.

On Wednesday, Panoramic Resources said the weak and uncertain nickel price had forced it to gradually suspend operations at its Savannah mine in Western Australia’s Kimberley region ahead of last shipments and a full care and maintenance position during April.

It came as Mincor Resources confirmed it would cease mining at its Mariner and Miitel mines, both in the historic Kambalda nickel district, at the end of the month “for a period of suspension until the nickel price recovers”.

[New Caledonia] Island of Nickel Losing Money as World’s Mines Shun Output Cuts – by Jesse Riseborough and Agnieszka De Sousa (Bloomberg News – January 22, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

On a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, mine owners like Glencore Plc and Vale SA are losing money on every ton of nickel they unearth in what amounts to a contest to see who can endure the agony longer.

A prolonged surplus of nickel has sent prices plunging to a 12-year low and below the cost of production for more than two thirds of the world’s mines.

Nowhere is the strain more acute than in New Caledonia, a former Napoleonic penal colony 1,000 miles from Australia’s eastern coast that drew billions of dollars in investment when the metal reached a record before the financial crisis. Now, an island with 15 percent of the planet’s reserves has become a cautionary tale for an industry unwilling to curtail supply.

Luck bottoms out for Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer – by Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – January 21, 2016)

January 21, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE Jan 21 Larger-than-life mining magnate Clive Palmer was riding a boom in mineral prices less than two years ago and had become one of Australia’s most influential politicians.

Now, rattled by a slide in commodity prices, the colourful and often controversial tycoon’s grip on parts of his business empire is crumbling and his political ambitions have also been dented by defections in the party he created.

Other Australian mining magnates such as Gina Rinehart, one of Asia’s richest women, and Andrew “Twiggy” Forest have also seen their fortunes plummet. Palmer’s problems came to a head this week when his embattled Queensland Nickel (QNI) refinery called in administrators after sacking more than 200 workers.

An ugly start to what may be a brutal year for nickel producers – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – January 14, 2016)

January 18, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – If the first two weeks are anything to go by, this is going to be an ugly year for nickel producers. Canada’s Sherritt International and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp have just announced massive write-downs against their Ambatovy nickel assets in Madagascar.

The total impairment will be $2.4 billion on a 100 percent basis, according to Sherritt, based on a long-term nickel price of $8.50 per lb, or around $18,400 per tonne.

It’s a hugely disappointing outcome for both companies and their shareholders given the $5.5 billion Ambatovy project is only now approaching nameplate capacity after a lengthy three-year ramp-up.

Sherritt, Sumitomo take $1.7 bln hit on Madagascar nickel mine (Reuters U.S. – January 13, 2016)

January 13, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Jan 13 Canada’s Sherritt International Corp and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp said on Wednesday they would book more than $1.7 billion of losses on their Ambatovy nickel mine in Madagascar, as prices at 12-year lows wreak havoc among miners.

The companies had been ramping up production at the 60,000 tonne a year nickel mine, but the prolonged slump in commodities is taking an ever greater toll on miners and traders, forcing losses, asset sales and writedowns, with no end in sight as the new year starts.

Sumitomo said it would take a writedown of 77 billion yen ($652 million) and withdrew its earnings forecast for the year through March 2016. It blamed the price declines in nickel for the writeoff on the Ambatovy mine, in which it has a 32.5 percent stake.