AGORACOM Small-cap Investor Relations Blog

SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)  Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information

Nickel price keeps going higher

After dropping below US$5 a pound at the end of 2018, metal reaches US$7.31 Friday

• Worries about supply and expected demand for electric cars kept pushing up the price of nickel this week
• Metal staying above US$7.31 a pound on the London Metals Exchange on Friday.

Prices are up by 50 per cent the start of the year, when nickel was struggling to stay above US$5 a pound. Prices haven’t risen this fact in a decade. Indonesia, one of the biggest suppliers in the world, plans to ban exports in 2022, and rumours the ban could be imposed sooner has accounted for some of nickel’s recent strength, analysts say.

Kieran Clancy, assistant commodities economist at UK-based Capital Economics, told Bnamericas on Friday that global supply shortages are expected to worsen since no major mines are coming into operation any time soon.

“What’s more, there are a number of tail risks, the most notable of which being the prospect that Indonesia implements a ban on nickel ore exports sooner than 2022, although they now have significant domestic smelting capacity which would cushion the blow somewhat,” Clancy said.  

And in a livewiremarkets.com story Friday, Eddy Haegel of BHP said demand for high grade nickel (which is mined in Sudbury) for electric car batteries will really take off sometime next year.

“We do not expect to see a meaningful impact on the nickel market from batteries until the mid – late 2020s,” Haegel said. “Only then, do we expect to see serious industry investment by Class 1 nickel producers.

“However, we will not rest waiting for that day to arrive. We are actively developing options to position ourselves for this once-in-a-generation opportunity.’’

Source: https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/nickel-price-keeps-going-higher-1644440

SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)  Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information

• Nickel prices shot up on Thursday, with London nickel set for its biggest one-day gain in a decade
• Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange rallied as much as 12.7%

SINGAPORE — Nickel prices shot up on Thursday, with London nickel set for its biggest one-day gain in a decade and Shanghai nickel touching a record high amid worries that major supplier Indonesia could soon ban exports of ore.

Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange rallied as much as 12.7%, its strongest one-day jump since 2009, while the most-traded nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rallied to 124,890 yuan ($17,736.53) a tonne, its highest on record.

Traders and analysts cited market chatter that major nickel ore supplier Indonesia, which also supplies tin, would soon ban exports of some ores.

“I just heard that there will be a regulation released in the near future, but details are unclear,” said a nickel analyst.

London tin rallied 2.3% and Shanghai tin jumped 2.1% by 0200 GMT.

“People believe the ban is coming,” said an executive at a major nickel producer in Indonesia.

Source: https://business.financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/nickel-soars-on-talk-of-indonesia-export-ban

SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)  Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information

BHP confident nickel will surf EV wave better than lithium

• BHP is optimistic about the decision to keep its Nickel West division and lean into the commodity to get a slice of the impending battery boom.
• Speaking at the company’s nickel refinery in Kwinana on Friday Nickel West asset president Eddy Haegel said the company reviewed battery materials such as lithium and cobalt but they weren’t as attractive as nickel.

By Hamish Hastie

BHP Nickel West assett president Eddy Haegel.Credit:Hamish Hastie

“I think it would come as no great surprise that we didn’t think that

was attractive … because 70 per cent of it comes out of Democratic Republic of Congo and we’re not in a hurry to go and invest into DRC,” he said.

“In the case of lithium, there’s a lot of lithium in the world, it’s a very widely available mineral. Advertisement

“There will be periods of time when supply and demand don’t naturally match but we anticipate that there will be no sustainable premium in the lithium sector.

“Whereas we think that’s not the case with nickel.

“We think that in the medium to longer term that there will be a margin that will be sticky for nickel, so we think that’s an attractive commodity.”

The sale or shutdown of Nickel West has been on the cards for nearly a decade but in May its future seemed secure within BHP after chief executive Andrew Mackenzie indicated it was a valuable asset with high growth potential.

In 2015 none of Nickel West’s product went to the battery sector, now those customers gobble up 80 per cent of its output.

Nickel West is hedging its success on nickel sulphate, a crystalised version of nickel favoured by battery makers.

It is currently building a 100,000 tonnes per annum nickel sulphate plant in Kwinana, when it starts production next year it will be one of the biggest in the world.

The new nickel sulphate plant.Credit:Hamish Hastie

The original cost of the plant was $62 million but Mr Haegel confirmed it was tracking above that.

He would not reveal how much the plant will cost now.

Nickel West is a major partner of the $135 million battery materials research centre based in Perth.

Mr Haegal said they would probably provide nickel sulphate to researchers for free so they can test how capable Australia is of making high value battery prescursor materials.

“We’re really excited about the work that will get conducted in that space,” he said.

Source: https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/bhp-confident-nickel-will-surf-ev-wave-better-than-lithium-20190802-p52dem.html