Vale unsure if New Caledonia nickel operations will continue
RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil's Vale hopes to find a partner for its struggling New Caledonia nickel mine by the end of the year but it is not clear if the world's largest nickel producer will continue nickel operations there, executives said on Thursday.
A day after first quarter results showed a 36% slump in profit, executives said they were not satisfied with nickel prices.
However, executives said that nickel would become an industry motor when electric vehicles become a reality.
Vale has struggled over its presence in the nickel segment, where prices have yet to pick up because of oversupply, despite the metal's key role in lithium-ion batteries that are used in electric cars.
Over-budget and years late when it started up in 2010, the New Caledonia project, located on a Pacific island, accumulated nearly $1.3-billion in losses from 2014 to 2016.
In December, Vale dialled back nickel output forecasts for the following five years even as it praised the metal's future prospects.
On Thursday, Vale said it was curbing base metal production to boost returns, though the world's biggest nickel producer hopes the area will one day represent a greater part of earnings.
Vale, also the world's largest iron ore producer, said it will not flood the market with ore from its Carajas mine, adding that the S11D mine would double production this year over last thanks to its continuing ramp-up.
First quarter earnings were hit by a slide in realised iron-ore prices. However, Vale's high quality ore is seen commanding strong demand in China, which aims to curb pollution fanned by making steel from lower quality ore.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Booyco Electronics, South African pioneer of Proximity Detection Systems, offers safety solutions for underground and surface mining, quarrying,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
For over 60 years, VEGA has provided industry-leading products for the measurement of level, density, weight and pressure. As the inventor of the...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
