THE bane of the conventional nickel mining world, nickel pig iron plants in China, are in real danger of being starved of ore if purported comments by the Philippines Mines Secretary Regina Lopez are taken at face value.
NickelCredit SuissePhilippines A note to clients by Credit Suisse points to Lopez being keen to shut down all open pit mining. That’s in contrast to the previous suggestions that only mining operations deleterious to the environment and not positive for local communities were under threat. However the veracity of comments attributed to Lopez (and reported by the Manila Bulletin last month), are unknown. "I am not in favour of open pit mining,” Lopez is said to have said in the text. “It wreaks havoc in our islands. The mining law MUST be revised. It’s grossly unfair!" Credit Suisse makes the point that if open pit mining was to be banned, it is difficult to see how the NPI industry in China would survive. “The main regions with nickel laterite deposits are Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Caledonia,” Credit Suisse said. “These regions have the appropriate geology (ophiolites) due to plate tectonics and the necessary tropical weathering to produce laterite. “Indonesia banned raw material exports from 2014, and New Caledonia has always favoured domestic ferronickel producers over ore exports. “If the Philippines supply ceases, it is difficult to see another nickel ore supplier for China’s NPIs.” China’s NPI industry produced 388,000t of nickel last year, which is believed to be roughly 15-20% of world supply. Some of the slack would be taken up by NPI production in Indonesia continuing to ramp up, with one company in the island archipelago currently ramping up capacity to 80,000t. In the short term there are also believed to be laterite stocks in China totalling about 110,000t of contained nickel. Whatever the case emerging in Indonesia and with stockpiles in China, the nickel price has already lifted about 30% this year. Lopez as a green ‘white knight’ for Western-based nickel miners could yet be set to further play out.
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