Country adds BRL 5 billion in nickel exploration projects

Used in electric car batteries and strategic in the energy transition, nickel will receive investments of at least US$ 1.06 billion (about R$ 5 billion) in increasing production in Brazil by 2025, according to a survey by the Brazilian Mining Institute. (Ibram) obtained by Estadão/Broadcast.

The value refers to four projects, from three different companies.

In addition to the expectation of greater demand due to energy changes, the metal has recorded record prices after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia – the largest producer of the metal in the world, a reason for concerns about supply.

Nickel was once traded above US$100,000 a tonne in London, before trading was halted by the London Metal Exchange (LME) earlier this month.

One of the ongoing projects in Brazil is by Piaui Níquel Metais, of the Brazilian Nickel group, based in London.

According to the company’s president, Guilherme Jácome, the first phase of operation at the mine, located in the municipality of Capitão Gervásio de Oliveira (PI), will begin by June, with a capacity of 1,500 tons per year of contained nickel.

The product is especially used on stainless steel and batteries.

“The initial production is small, but we are developing the basic project of the second phase, which foresees the production of 25 thousand tons of contained nickel per year, with the beginning of the works in the first half of next year”, says Jácome, adding that the The investment initially belonged to Vale, in the 2000s, when the mining company had a broader portfolio of initiatives.

The survey by Ibram shows that the main investment in nickel is programmed by Horizonte Minerals, in two projects.

The largest of them provides US$ 500 million (about R$ 2.5 billion) to expand the production capacity of the British mining company in Conceição do Araguaia, in Pará.

Another large-scale project is planned by Atlantic Nickel at the Santa Rita mine in Bahia, one of the largest open pit mines in the world.

more investments

One of the largest companies in the sector in the country is Anglo American, which produces nickel in Niquelândia, Goiás. According to the company, around R$ 2 billion will be invested in the business over the next five years, including, in this case, business continuity and safety improvements, in addition to increased production.

As it does not only involve increasing capacity, this investment is not included in the Ibram study.

Eduardo Caixeta, director of Anglo American’s Nickel Operations in Brazil, says that the company is developing a briquetting project – a system for agglomerating the fines present in the ore.

“The expectation is that the innovation will increase production capacity, in addition to bringing improvements in efficiency with reduced energy consumption, operational safety and stability of the pyrometallurgical plant (a production process that involves high temperatures).”

Demand

Brazil still has a timid participation in the global production of the metal. Although Vale is one of the major global producers, a significant part of its production is in Canada, as a result of the acquisition of Inco in 2006.

The mining company is also a nickel producer in Indonesia and has its own production in Brazil. In 2021, Vale produced 168 thousand tons worldwide, 8.5% less than in 2020.

According to analyst Ilan Arbetman, from Ativa Investimentos, Vale has always been strong in the production of base metals, especially nickel and copper. Arbetman says that the nickel market has had strong demand in the last two years, due to the issue of car batteries and electronic components.

But companies are still evaluating the level of investment valid to explore the metal.

“There is a demand estimation work to see how much it is worth to focus more on base metals such as nickel. There is a potential in this market that the world is still discovering, little by little. Vale and other companies are seeing the best way to adapt to this”, said the analyst, citing Vale’s efforts for the base metals division to be better priced.

The information is from the newspaper. The State of São Paulo.

Source: CNN Brasil

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