Nickel – Page 97 – Republic of Mining

Nickel woes push South32 shares to fresh low point – by Michael Roddan (The Australian – August 18, 2015)

August 18, 2015

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

BHP Billiton spin-off South32, which launched on the sharemarket with high hopes in May, tumbled to a new low on the ASX today amid a global commodity crunch, with shares down more than 30 per cent from their high point shortly after listing.

The diversified miner (S32), which holds BHP’s former non-core coal and base metal assets, has been hit by weak commodity prices and soft global demand amid a rising US dollar.

The shares, which hit a peak of $2.37 after listing, fell as much as 3.4 per cent to $1.56 in today’s trade, taking the total decline from the posting-listing high to 34 per cent.

South32, a miner of metals such as nickel, coal, silver, aluminium and zinc, has seen commodity prices crash during its short life. Bloomberg’s commodities index slumped to its lowest point in 13 years recently.

The prices of nickel, copper and zinc are all hitting their lowest points since 2009, as concerns about slowing economic growth in China are pushing industrial metals down.

Glencore swoops on Sirius’ nickel – by Peter Ker (Sydney Morning Herald – August 18, 2015)

August 18, 2015

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

Glencore’s financial troubles have not prevented the Swiss giant from swooping on the remaining offtake from Sirius Resources’ Nova mine in WA. In a deal that completes the offtake process for Sirius for the time being, Glencore will buy half of the nickel and copper concentrate produced at Nova for the first three years of the mine.

The agreement comes after BHP Billiton agreed in March to buy half of the first three years’ concentrate from Nova, and Trafigura agreed to buy copper concentrate from the mine.

Both BHP and Glencore have nickel operations within a few hundred kilometres of the Nova mine but while the concentrate bound for BHP will go into its Nickel West smelter at Kalgoorlie, Sirius said the concentrate bought by Glencore would be shipped overseas out of either Esperance or Geraldton ports.

Nova is not expected to come into production until late 2016, and the fact that 100 per cent of production for the first three years has already been sold amid a weak nickel market is a tribute to the expected high quality of the Sirius concentrate.

UPDATED: Vale sanctions underground mine at Voisey’s Bay (CBC News Newfoundland – August 10, 2015)

August 10, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

Will extend mine life to 2035 and nearbly double workforce to 850

Mining giant Vale has approved construction of an underground mine at Voisey’s Bay that will extend the life of the northern Labrador mine by about 15 years and provide hundreds more jobs.

A company spokesman said construction will begin next year, and is timed to ensure a continuity of supply for the new multi-billion-dollar nickel processing plant in Long Harbour.

“For us it’s a natural evolution of the mine there,” said Cory McPhee, vice-president of corporate affairs for Vale’s base metals business.

“We’ve always known that the open pit was going to be exhausted at some point. And going underground was the next natural step. And that’s the key to exploiting the resource that’s available to us.”

It will take about five years to complete the underground mine, which is about the same time the surface mine is expected to reach the end of its lifespan.

Nickel West just might be the biggest loser – by Barry FitzGerald (The Australian – August 6, 2015)

August 5, 2015

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

Mylanta and Panadol were in short supply as the 1700 mining types pushed through the final day of the Diggers & Dealers bash. “Go hard or go home” seemed to be mantra.

But while sympathy was in short supply for those delegates who had badly timed their runs, there was much on offer for our biggest miner, BHP Billiton.

Not that BHP was out and about. While it operates the Kalgoorlie nickel concentrator and smelter, BHP operatives are only seen in the shadows, if at all.

Anyway, BHP’s Nickel West division — the one that wasn’t good enough to shove in to the South32 spin-off — is doing it tough, real tough, as a result of the crash in nickel prices.

Talk around the conference is that it would be no surprise if Nickel West was losing tens of millions of dollars a month — that’s right, a month — at current prices for the stainless steel ingredient of $US4.86 a pound.

More trouble for snakebit Sudbury mine – by Jonathan Migneault (Northern Ontario Business – August 4, 2015)

August 5, 2015

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

A weekend underground explosion at First Nickel’s Lockerby Mine in Sudbury on Aug. 2 resulted in minor injuries and smoke inhalation for one worker, confirmed the company’s president and CEO.

“There was an explosion this morning (Aug. 2) that resulted in a worker requiring a medical aid – nothing serious,” said First Nickel president and CEO Thomas Boehlert in an email to Northern Ontario Business. “As we do not run a shift on Sunday, we will be assessing the situation underground tomorrow.”

In a later release, the company reported that three other workers were checked for smoke inhalation and released without medical treatment.

The company said it is investigating the cause of the incident and planned to resume operations the following day. It’s unknown if the Ministry of Labour is investigating.

Finnish nickel mining execs on trial for environmental damage (AFP – August 4, 2015)

August 4, 2015

https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/

Four former executives with a Finnish nickel mining company accused of contaminating lakes with uranium, cadmium and other toxic elements went on trial Tuesday charged with aggravated environmental damage.

Talvivaara Sotkamo, the bankrupt operator of the European Union’s biggest nickel mine, is also named among the defendants in the highly-publicised case in Kainuu, east-central Finland.

The prosecutor asked the district court to seize 13.3 million euros ($14.6 million) in illegal profits from Talvivaara Sotkamo’s estate and the four executives, according to court documents.

Situated around 500 kilometres (300 miles) north of Helsinki, the mine opened in 2008 amid expectations it would usher in a new era in nickel mining in Finland.

But the operation ended in environmental disaster and economic failure after toxic levels of nickel, cadmium, uranium, aluminium and zinc were detected in nearby lakes and rivers in 2012, and again in 2013 after waste water began to leak from the mine.

Zinc, nickel add a little lustre to Diggers – by Tess Ingram (Sydney Morning Herald – August 4, 2015)

August 4, 2015

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

As Diggers and Dealers delegates rolled in for day two of the annual mining conference, heavy heads from a late night in Kalgoorlie’s famous watering holes were unlikely to be relieved by an injection of optimism.

Commodity prices are down across the board. Since last year’s conference, base metals are down between 20 and 40 per cent, while gold is down about 15 per cent and iron ore has plummeted nearly 50 per cent during the year.

Australian domiciled gold producers, buoyed by the falling local currency, are a shining centre of attention at the conference but there are some other bright spots.

Despite a recent price slide that has forced some analysts to downgrade their price forecasts, zinc-focused companies at the conference attracted a considerable level of interest from analysts and investors at their marquee booths.

Zinc for delivery in three months has fallen to around $US1893 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.

Nunavik nickel firm wants to nearly double Raglan’s lifespan (Nunatsiaq News – July 27, 2015)

July 27, 2015

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Glencore proposing to dig four new underground mines at Raglan

The operators of Nunavik’s Raglan nickel mine hope to expand its lifespan well beyond 2019, with the addition of five new underground mines across the region’s nickel belt.

Glencore, the corporation that operates Raglan and its four current underground mines, has submitted the project to the Kativik Environmental Quality Commission, which reviews the social and environmental impact of development in the region.

With current operations scheduled to wind down by 2019, Glencore completed a scoping study last year, the company said, which confirmed viable nickel deposits on the eastern half of the Raglan property. The first phase of the expansion would include two underground mines, called Mine 14 and Donaldson, which would operate from 2019 to 2032.

The exploitation of three new underground mines, Mine 8, Boundary and Boundary West, could extend production from 2023 to 2039, Glencore said in a preliminary information document submitted to the KEQC in 2014.

Vale’s Nickel IPO Chances Wane as Fires, Shutdowns Hurt Output – by Juan Pablo Spinetto(Bloomberg News – July 23, 2015)

July 24, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

A fire in Canada, disruptions in Indonesia and shutdowns in Brazil and New Caledonia: it was tough getting nickel out of the ground last quarter for Vale SA.

Output of the metal at Vale, the world’s largest producer, missed estimates for a second consecutive quarter. The lower-than-expected production comes as a plunge in metal prices makes the Rio de Janeiro-based company’s plan to sell as much as 30 percent of the unit in an initial public offering less likely.

Vale said in its second-quarter output report Thursday that nickel production rose less than 9 percent to 67,100 metric tons, missing a 73,900-ton average forecast by seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The result, called “poor” by BMO Capital Markets in a research note, puts production for the first half at 136,000 tons, or less than 45 percent of the company’s annual target of 303,000 tons.

Operations in the quarter were affected by a fire at its operations in Sudbury, Ontario, which reduced nickel and copper production by 5,000 tons each, furnace maintenance in Indonesia and a “brief shutdown” for plant improvement at the Onca Puma project in Brazil, Vale said. The miner is planning to close facilities at Sudbury and Thompson in August for maintenance, it said.

[Vale] World’s Top Iron-Ore Miner Presses on Output as Price Slide – by Juan Pablo Spinetto (Bloomberg News – July 23, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Vale SA boosted iron-ore production last quarter to the second-highest ever for the company, exceeding analyst estimates and worsening a supply glut that saw prices of the steelmaking ingredient collapse.

Iron-ore output rose 7.4 percent to 85.3 million metric tons in the quarter through June 30, compared with 79.4 million tons a year ago, the company said in a statement Thursday. The result, which excludes third-party purchases and operations at a venture with BHP Billiton Plc, topped the 82.5 million-ton average of eight analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company, the world’s top iron-ore producer, is expanding supply to a record 340 million tons this year while seeking to replace low-quality ore with premium products to improve profits. The expansion by Vale and its main rivals BHP and Rio Tinto Group coincides with an unexpected decline in demand from China, the biggest iron-ore buyer, prompting Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to forecast weaker prices in incoming quarters.

The increase in Vale’s three main production systems was driven by better-than-expected weather and expanded operations at the N4WS mine and Plant 2 unit in the Carajas complex, Vale said in the statement. Output for the first-half reached a record 159.8 million tons, 6.2 percent more than last year.

Chinese Nickel Imports Jump to 6-Year High as Shortage Looms (Bloomberg News – July 21, 2015)

July 21, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

China imported the most refined nickel in six years in a further sign that the world’s biggest consumer is drawing on global supply. Futures rose 2.4 percent in London.

Inbound shipments of the metal used to produce stainless steel surged 67 percent to 38,545 tons in June from the previous month, the highest since July 2009, and were more than three times the level a year earlier, Chinese customs data show.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. are bullish on prices amid prospects for rising Chinese demand. Macquarie Group Ltd. sees a global shortage which may cut inventories further from a record. Stockpiles in London Metal Exchange sheds have already fallen to the lowest in almost two months. Some imports may have been for delivery against the first nickel contract to expire on the Shanghai bourse, said Celia Wang from Tianjin Zhongwei Group’s investment department.

“Huge imports arrived in China from LME warehouses as traders seek profits by delivering against the first settlement of a Shanghai nickel futures contract,” said Wang, the general manager. “Refined nickel imports are expected to remain at a high level into July.”

AUDIO: Vale expects to miss 2015 sulpher dioxide emissions target (CBC News Sudbury – July 20, 2015)

July 20, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury

Company says it has some emissions credits banked from past improvements to its process

Nickel giant Vale doesn’t expect to meet its sulphur dioxide emission targets this year, a decade after they were set.

Vale was granted a five-year extension, and has until the end of this year to get its annual emissions down to 66 kilotonnes.

The company reports it’s currently emitting about 150 kilotonnes, but is aiming to be down to 20 kilotonnes by 2018 — when $1 billion worth of upgrades are completed at its Copper Cliff smelter.

“There’s going to be a couple steps,” said Dan Legrand, Vale’s director of process technology. “The big one will occur in 2018 when we start capturing all of the converter gas.”

Vale has made other changes to its emissions process — racking up government credits that allow it to miss the emissions deadline without penalty. The Ministry of the Environment is keeping a close watch.

Slump in nickel prices rattles small Australian miners – by Melanie Burton and James Regan (Reuters U.S. – July 15, 2015)

July 17, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

A 30 percent slump in nickel prices this year has piled pressure on small Australian miners, forcing some of them to delay new projects and expansions as they wait for the market to recover.

Poseidon Nickel became the latest miner to succumb when it said on Thursday it would put its Lake Johnston mine on care and maintenance – a sign casualties were mounting amid near record metal stockpiles and weak demand from key consumer China.

Exchange stockpiles of the metal used to make stainless steel nearly doubled in the 18 months to June, pressuring benchmark prices to six-year lows of $10,430 per tonne last week, down 32 percent since the start 2015.

“When you’ve got 70 percent of an industry at break-even or loss making you’re going to see people defer projects and shut down,” said UBS analyst Daniel Morgan in Sydney.

“I think you’ll see a steady stream of these type of announcements for the next several months,” he added.

Nickel’s fightback begins but obstacles loom – by Pratima Desai (Reuters U.S. – July 15, 2015)

July 15, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) – Prospects for tighter nickel supplies may have put a floor under prices but any real recovery will need Chinese stainless steel mills to step up their orders and global stockpiles to fall.

Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange fell to six-year lows of $10,430 a tonne last week on worries about demand, particularly after a tumble in Chinese equities.

Prices have climbed back to around $11,500 yet remain at just half the $21,625 hit in May 2014 after Indonesia banned nickel ore exports.

The sell-off that followed that peak was triggered by suppliers in the Philippines who moved to supply ore to Chinese smelters, which produce nickel pig iron, a cheaper alternative to refined nickel that costs around $15,000 a tonne to make.

Chinese nickel pig-iron producers are losing money and have cut output. Analysts estimate China’s nickel pig-iron production fell about 25 percent year on year between January and May to below 170,000 tonnes.

Several rounds of layoffs expected at Lockerby Mine: union – by Jonathan Migneault (Northern Ontario Business – July 8, 2015)

July 9, 2015

First Nickel Inc.’s Lockerby Mine in Sudbury will see several rounds of layoffs in the coming months, says the union representing the workers.

Anne-Marie MacInnis, the president of Mine Mill Local 598/Unifor, said the company sent out layoff notices to around 26 workers last week, and is expected to reduce its workforce more in the next few months.

“They’re going to be on care and maintenance in November,” MacInnis said. Under care and maintenance, the company would only need a skeleton crew to maintain infrastructure at the mine site.

MacInnis said the company has agreed, as per the collective agreement, to set up a re-adjustment centre for employees who have received layoff notices. The centre would give them resources to find new jobs.

“They said they would provide a couple computers to allow people to do job searches,” she said.