nickle bound to rise, page-2

Hi jojosydney, In regards to the last post,

From my understanding chromium is not an alternative, it is essential.
also,
"Mn has been introduced in austenitic stainless steels as a substitute for Ni during shortages in the international market or for economical reasons. The nickel content can be halved to 4 wt% by the addition of 2-6Mn wt%. However, although the austenitic structure is achieved, such steels do not exhibit the same corrosion resistance as an 18/8 steel."
(the ratio refers to the Cr/Ni % content)

Also the last paragraph states that the nickel price price needs to be $7000 per ton for steel makers to start making reasonable returns.
Seems odd to me.
How were they coping when Ni reached $17000?
Did they hedge with forward contracts (If that is possible)?
This also makes me wonder; at what price did FXR forward sell to Jinchuan?

Cheers.
P.S. Good to see Ni up 3 days in a row