Nickel – Page 30 – Republic of Mining

From Nickel to Cobalt, Chinese Mining Interests in Africa Face Challenges – by Kate Barlett (Voice of America – March 17, 2022)

March 18, 2022

https://www.voanews.com/

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — It is a metal found in products used by people worldwide, unthinkingly every day. Whether it’s scrolling on a mobile phone or commuting to work in an electric car, nickel is a key part of these high-tech devices. Now nickel — a prime component in batteries — has the markets in turmoil and one Chinese company facing billions of dollars in losses.

Chinese nickel giant Tsingshan Holding Group Co wagered that nickel prices would fall, but instead, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent the commodity’s trading prices through the roof last week, driven by concerns about disruptions to the Russian company Nornickel, one of the world’s largest suppliers.

How the War in Ukraine Could Slow the Sales of Electric Cars – by Jack Ewing and Stephen Gandel (New York Times – March 17, 2022)

March 18, 2022

https://www.nytimes.com/

The price of nickel, an essential ingredient in most batteries, has soared because of fear that Russian supplies could be cut off.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shaken the global market for nickel just as the metal gains importance as an ingredient in electric car batteries, raising fears that high prices could slow the transition away from fossil fuels.

The price of nickel doubled in one day last week, prompting the London Metal Exchange to freeze trading and effectively bring the global nickel market to a standstill.

Nickel trading on the London Metal Exchange just melted down for a third time: ‘Credibility is very quickly slipping through their fingers’ – by Will Daniel (Fortune Magazine – March 17, 2022)

March 18, 2022

https://fortune.com/

The London Metal Exchange is now facing some serious credibility issues after nickel trading was halted for the third time in less than two weeks on Thursday. The second computer glitch in as many days caused yet another shutdown for the 145-year-old metals exchange as it attempts to resume regular trading following last week’s historic short squeeze that caused prices to jump 250% in a single day to over $100,000 a ton.

This time, the halt in trading lasted only until 8:45 a.m. London time, but after Wednesday’s embarrassing series of false starts and more than a weeklong shutdown from March 8 to March 16, the LME will have its work cut out for it to restore confidence to traders in the market.

Nickel expert calls on Musk, Farley, others to demand Nickel sourcing in North America – by Joey Klender (Teslarati.com – March 16, 2022)

March 17, 2022

HOME

Surging prices of nickel, a potentially major influence in the future of the global electric vehicle market, have encouraged one mining expert in the field to call on automotive CEOs to demand more attention toward sourcing the metal in North America.

NICKEL AND ITS APPEAL TO EVS

Nickel has been a significant talking point of many automotive CEOs for about two years as its wide availability could alleviate battery manufacturing bottlenecks for cells containing either controversial or hard-to-obtain rare earth metals. Tesla CEO Elon Musk first discussed nickel mining during an Earnings Call in mid-2020. Musk pledged a massive contract to any company that could supply nickel to Tesla, as long as it was sourced efficiently and sustainably.

Ontario’s Green party leader sees electric future – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – March 16, 2022)

March 17, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The leader of the Ontario Green Party toured the Nickel City on Wednesday to meet with researchers and mining innovators who are putting the city’s signature industry on a greener path.

“The minerals that Sudbury produces are vital to electrifying transportation and battery storage to make renewable energy systems lower-cost and more efficient,” said Mike Schreiner, following a stop at a vantage point overlooking the smelter stacks in Copper Cliff. “So Sudbury is going to play a critical role in the new climate economy.”

The 18 minutes of trading chaos that broke the nickel market – by Jack Farchy, Alfred Cang and Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – March 14, 2022)

March 16, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

It was 5:42 a.m. on March 8 in London when the nickel market broke. At that time of day, bleary-eyed traders are typically just glancing at prices as they swig coffee on their way to the office.

On this day, however, metal traders across the city were glued to a screen, watching the price action on the electronic market, which was already open to accommodate Asian trading. Nickel prices usually move a few hundred dollars per ton in a day. For most of the past decade, they’d traded between US$10,000 and US$20,000.

LME nickel trading halted in chaotic market resumption – by Pratima Desai, Zandi Shabalala and Eric Onstad (Reuters – March 16, 2022)

March 16, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) – The London Metal Exchange (LME) halted nickel trading on its electronic system almost immediately on Wednesday in a chaotic resumption of business for a market that has been in limbo for over a week.

LME nickel prices are used as a reference for deals between end-users of the metal and producers and the disorderly reopening left some traders questioning whether participants might look for alternative venues.

How the invasion of Ukraine became part of the debate over copper-nickel mining in northern Minnesota – by Walker Orenstein (Minn Post – March 14, 2022)

March 16, 2022

https://www.minnpost.com/

Companies and governments around the world have pulled out of Russia after the country invaded Ukraine last month, and the war has even sparked lawmakers in Minnesota to consider divesting state pension funds from companies tied to Russia in the midst of the humanitarian crisis. The Russian invasion has also now raised questions about Minnesota’s mining industry.

Both supporters and opponents of two potential copper-nickel mines have used the war in Ukraine to underscore their stances on the projects. Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, an advocacy group opposing Toronto-based PolyMet Mining’s project near Hoyt Lakes, says Russia’s attacks are just one more reason the mine should be stopped. That’s because, in part, PolyMet’s majority owner has business ties with Russia.

Norilsk Cleared to Pay Debt in Foreign Currency, Potanin Says – by Irene García Pérez (Bloomberg News – March 12, 2022)

March 14, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Russia’s Ministry of Finance has cleared MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC to pay off its foreign debts in currencies other than the ruble, said Vladimir Potanin, the company’s president and biggest shareholder.

The mining company, which dominates the palladium market, has already paid the coupon of its dollar-denominated bond that was due on March 11, Potanin said in an interview with Russian newspaper RBC that was published on Saturday.

Seabed mineral exploration licences approved in the Cook Islands – by Caleb Fotheringham (RNZ – March 13, 2022)

March 14, 2022

https://www.rnz.co.nz/

Five kilometres deep on the Cook Islands seafloor, potato-shaped rocks pave the bottom loaded with expensive minerals like cobalt, copper, manganese and nickel. They’re called polymetallic nodules and three weeks ago the Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown referred to them as “golden apples”.

Brown made the comment during an official signing ceremony where three companies were awarded a seabed minerals exploration licence. The licence allows the companies to see if mining is a viable option which includes reviewing the environmental risks associated with the task.

‘The Steve Jobs of metals’ who brought the nickel market to a halt – by Neil Hume, Hudson Lockett, Eleanor Olcott and Gloria Li (Australian Financial Review – March 13, 2022)

March 14, 2022

https://www.afr.com/

London | To understand why Xiang Guangda is regarded as the Steve Jobs of metals, look at an aerial shot of the Morowali Industrial Park on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It is here that the Chinese businessman built a vast manufacturing complex that stands as a testament to his domination of the global stainless steel industry.

“Xiang is a visionary,” says Kenny Ives, the former head of nickel trading at Glencore. “Tsingshan’s success in both China and Indonesia over the last 10 to 15 years is extraordinary.”

Chinese tycoon’s ‘big short’ on nickel trips up Tsingshan’s miracle growth – by Praveen Menon, Min Zhang and Fransiska Nangoy (Reuters – March 14, 2022)

March 14, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

March 14 (Reuters) – (This March 13 story corrects size of Morowali industrial park in paragraph 20, and to show production data is for whole company, not only for its Sulawesi facilities, in paragraph 21)

Chinese tycoon Xiang Guangda has to find a way to bail his Tsingshan Holding Group out of a crisis after its bet on nickel prices backfired, fuelling more volatility in a metal essential for the electric vehicles industry.

One of the world’s top nickel producers faces massive losses on its short positions after prices soared over $100,000 per tonne last week and forced the London Metal Exchange to halt nickel trading.

Don’t take Russia back to 1917, Russian metals king Potanin warns – by Guy Faulconbridge (Reuters – March 11, 2022)

March 11, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) – Confiscating the assets of companies that have fled Russia after the invasion of Ukraine would shatter investor confidence for decades and take Russia back to the calamitous days of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, metals magnate Vladimir Potanin said.

Potanin, the biggest shareholder in Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.MM), the world’s largest producer of palladium and refined nickel, said Russia should respond with pragmatism to its exclusion from whole swathes of the global economy.

Chinese Tycoon Tells Banks He Wants to Keep Shorting Nickel – by Jack Farchy, Alfred Cang and Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – March 10, 2022)

March 11, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The Chinese tycoon whose big short bet on nickel helped trigger one of the most dramatic price spikes in history has told his banks and brokers that he doesn’t intend to reduce his position, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move is a characteristic display of self-confidence from Xiang Guangda, the owner of Tsingshan Holding Group Co., and means that the nickel market could be set for more fireworks once it reopens.