October 2023
With the introduction of free-on-board (FOB) Indonesia prices for nickel pig iron (NPI) and mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), Fastmarkets, a market leader in cross-commodity price reporting agency (PRA), is bringing transparency to the battery raw materials market.
In the nickel industry, NPI and MHP are essential products. Stainless steel and other nickel intermediates are produced using NPI, which is being utilised more and more in these processes. For nickel-rich cathode lithium-ion batteries, especially those with nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) chemistry, MHP is essential to the production of intermediate components.
More detailed price reporting is required because regional and product price divergence has been a persistent trend in the global nickel markets. The nickel prices that Fastmarkets currently offers, which include assessments on a delivered duty paid (ddp) China basis for NPI and on a cif China, Japan, and South Korea basis for MHP, will be enhanced by these new NPI and MHP prices FOB Indonesia.
August 2023
With approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and shareholders, ASX-listed Nickel Industries has completed the acquisition of a 10% interest in the Huayue nickel/cobalt (HNC) project and an additional 10% interest in the Oracle nickel project.
The project will differ from the current generation of HPAL plants being built throughout Indonesia in that it will be able to produce both nickel sulfate and nickel cathode in addition to a mixed hydroxide precipitate. This will allow Nickel Industries to have a great deal of operating flexibility throughout the cycle.
Before making a final investment decision, the two companies are collaborating to finish a feasibility study for ENC. Construction is anticipated to start in December 2023 or March 2024.
Major players in the Nickel Hydroxide market, including Sigma-Aldrich Inc., Norilsk Nickel, Alt Cobalt and Nickel Products Co.Ltd., Nippy Chemicals, Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Co. Ltd., American Elements, Tinchem Enterprise, Kelong, Umicore, Triveni Chemicals, SUMITOMO METAL MINING CO. LTD., Tanaka Chemical Corporation, ZincFive Inc., Changsha Xinye Industrial Co. Ltd., and others