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Nickel Laterites

Report outlines cost of Indonesia’s EV dream as Chinese-funded nickel plants linked to pollution, ‘land grabbing’ – by Resty Woro Yuniar (South China Morning Post – January 17, 2024)

https://www.scmp.com/

A new report accuses a massive China-funded nickel industrial complex in Indonesia’s Maluku province of causing “significant” environmental destruction and existential threats to indigenous peoples in the area, adding to the array of issues the nation faces in becoming a major player in the global electric vehicle (EV) supply chain.

Released on Wednesday by the US-based Climate Rights International (CRI) advocacy group, the report also alleges that the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) in Halmahera, Maluku, worked with Indonesian police to protect the interests of some nickel miners by engaging in “land grabbing, coercion and intimidation of indigenous peoples”.

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Surging exchange stocks pile the pressure on nickel – by Andy Home (Reuters – January 17, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Nickel was the worst performer among the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) base metals last year by some margin as the market priced in a wave of new Indonesian supply.

Indonesia’s mined production rose by 29.2% year on year in the first 10 months of 2023, according to the International Nickel Study Group. Nickel demand is rising fast thanks to its use in electric vehicle batteries but nowhere near the pace of supply growth.

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Ravensthorpe nickel mine to cut 30 per cent of workforce as mining suspended amid weaker metal prices – by Jarrod Lucas (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – January 15, 2024)

https://www.abc.net.au/

The owner of the Ravensthorpe nickel operation on Western Australia’s south coast says it will suspend mining and cut 30 per cent of its 420-strong workforce. Canada’s First Quantum Minerals has today announced the changes in response to weaker metal prices — the second casualty in as many weeks for WA’s once-booming nickel industry.

Nickel is a key ingredient in stainless steel and lithium-ion batteries, but prices have fallen more than 40 per cent in the past year.

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Australia is ‘no longer competitive’ in nickel: producer – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review -January 11, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

The biggest nickel producer on the ASX says Australia is no longer competitive in the sector and its miners will never attract a so-called green premium for their product.

Nickel Industries managing director Justin Werner issued the dire warning with more than 1000 jobs in the balance in Australia after a plunge in nickel prices and forecasts Indonesia will flood the market with supply for years to come.

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BMI lowers outlook for nickel price – by Marleny Arnoldi (Mining Weekly – January 11, 2024)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Research firm BMI has revised downward its nickel price forecast for this year to $20 000/t from $20 600/t as the market remains in a supply glut. Simultaneously, weak Mainland Chinese demand and a limited growth outlook across major markets will place a cap on prices.

Nevertheless, BMI foresees some support from the weakening of the dollar throughout this year, which will prevent prices from falling back to pre-pandemic levels.

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This billionaire used Indonesia’s nickel to squeeze out Australia – by Emma Connors (Australian Financial Review – January 9, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

Indonesia’s ban on unrefined ore exports is loathed by competing producers and in breach of trade rules, but it is popular at home where international investors have built massive production centres.

They call him the Nickel King. Xiang Guangda, founder and chairman of Chinese giant Tsingshan Holdings, has invested billions of dollars in nickel processing in Indonesia, boosting exports and making it harder for higher-cost Australian miners to compete.

Indonesia’s exports of ferro nickel alloy, which is used to make stainless steel, climbed 38 per cent by volume in the first five months of last year after notching up a 42 per cent increase in the previous two years.

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Rethinking Indonesia’s nickel policies to power economic growth – by Cullen Hendrix (East Asia Forum – November 20, 2023)

https://www.eastasiaforum.org/

Calling Indonesia ‘the Saudi Arabia of nickel’, one of the metals underpinning global steel production and ambitions to decarbonise energy and transport systems, would be an insult to Indonesia’s market dominance.

Indonesia’s mines accounted for nearly half of global nickel production in 2022. It has banned raw nickel exports since 2020 as the country pushes to move up global value chains for renewable energy. Indonesia is a G20 member, a developing democracy and has an enormous potential home market for both steel and electric vehicles (EV).

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Indonesia’s American EV dreams shunted into the slow lane – by Andy Home (Reuters – November 20, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has made no secret of his ambition to leverage the country’s vast nickel resources to become an Asian hub for manufacturing electric vehicles (EV). He has been wooing Tesla (TSLA.O) for the last two years, offering the U.S. car maker incentives ranging from tax breaks to nickel mining concessions.

Now Widodo also needs a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States for Indonesian materials to qualify for the generous EV subsidies available under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

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Indonesia to Trace Nickel in Bid for US Critical Minerals Deal – by Eko Listiyorini (Bloomberg News – November 16, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Indonesia plans to introduce nickel tracing and push local producers to reach global mining standards to help the country move closer to securing a critical minerals deal with the US.

Each ton of nickel ore sales will be tracked using the SIMBARA portal starting next quarter, Septian Hario Seto, a deputy at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, said in an interview.

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Exclusive: US, Indonesia to discuss potential for deal on EV minerals – by Trevor Hunnicutt and Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – November 12, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) – The United States and Indonesia on Monday will discuss how to advance a potential minerals partnership aimed a stimulating trade of the electric vehicle (EV) battery metal nickel, according to three people with direct knowledge of the conversations.

Next steps that could move the countries toward formal negotiations on the partnership will be discussed when Indonesian President Joko Widodo visits the White House for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday, according to one of the people.

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Vale will sell 14% stake in Vale Indonesia – minister (Reuters – November 10, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Mining company Vale will sell a 14% stake in its Indonesian nickel miner Vale Indonesia (INCO.JK) to bring the holding by overseas firms below the maximum limit, Indonesia’s mining minister said on Friday.

Share divestment is a condition Indonesia requires to extend the operation permit for Vale Indonesia. Vale’s current contract is due to end in 2025. Under Indonesian rules, foreign investors are required to divest 51% of their stake to local buyers after a certain period of operation.

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Indonesia and Nickel: Tracing the Path of Sustainability Through ESG Implementation – by Tuhu Nugraha(Modern Diplomacy – November 9, 2023)

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/

Nickel is an essential element in the global industry, used in the production of everything from stainless steel to electric car batteries. In line with the global shift towards green vehicles and the growing need for rechargeable batteries, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that the demand for nickel will increase by at least 65% by 2030.

As the world’s largest nickel producer, Indonesia is expected to meet two-thirds of the global nickel needs, with billion-dollar investment agreements already in place to develop both processing plants and mining operations.

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Crackdown on illegal mining forces Indonesia to import nickel ore – by Mercedes Ruehl and Harry Dempsey (Financial Times – November 5, 2023)

https://www.ft.com/

Large shipments from the Philippines needed to keep smelters operating

Supply shortages caused by Indonesia’s crackdown on illegal nickel mining have forced the country to import large quantities of ore from the Philippines to keep smelters operating. Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer, has in recent months pursued a corruption investigation across the government that has led to delays in the issuance of quotas for nickel mining.

More than 53,000 tonnes of nickel ore and concentrates were shipped in May and June from the Philippines to Indonesia’s Morowali region, where Tsingshan, the world’s largest stainless steel producer, runs a large nickel smelting complex, official Indonesian customs data shows.

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Bears bet big that nickel can close the product gap – by Andy Home (Reuters – November 1, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) – The bears are out in force on the London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel market. Fund players have lifted their bets on lower prices to levels last seen in 2019, or even earlier if expressed as a percentage of open interest.

It’s not hard to understand why. The LME three-month nickel price has been on the slide for most of the year, sucking in momentum-tracking technical funds. Currently trading around $18,000 per metric ton, nickel is down by 42% on the start of January and challenging chart support levels dating back to late 2021.

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Chinese companies are investing billions in Indonesia’s nickel industry — but working conditions can be deadly – by Hellena Souisa, Kai Feng and Sally Brooks (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – November 4, 2023)

https://www.abc.net.au/

Chinese electrician Mr Ding says he saw co-workers die, a crane catch fire and worked for “175 days straight” during an 18-month stint at two nickel refining sites in Indonesia. His experiences left him with a critical view of the Chinese companies he worked for.

“There’s an old Chinese saying that money makes the devil work,” Mr Ding said. The 42-year-old, who requested to be identified only by his surname, worked as an electrician at two nickel refining hubs in Sulawesi between 2017 and 2020.

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