China Powder Network News Nickel is a silver-white metal. Stainless steel products made from it are widely used in daily life. It is also one of the important raw materials for power batteries. Especially in recent years with the global transition to electric vehicles and clean energy, nickel has become an important metal in this green revolution.
This chart shows the top 10 companies by nickel production in 2020, according to Mining Intelligence.
In 2020, the 850,000 tons of nickel mined by the world's 10 largest nickel mining companies is worth about US$17.3 billion. With the surge in demand for nickel from new energy vehicles, both production and prices are expected to grow along with nickel demand.
Nornickel (Russia Norilsk Nickel) was established in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is the world's largest refined nickel producer, the world's largest producer of palladium, and the third largest producer of platinum. In 2020, Nornickel led the way with production of 236,000 tonnes of nickel and a 28% share of the total, most of which came from its flagship Norilsk unit in Russia.
The recent uproar of the "demon nickel" incident of Tsingshan Holdings' war is directly due to the fact that due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the LME prohibited the delivery of Russian nickel, while Tsingshan Holdings has always obtained pure nickel from Nornickel.
Founded in 1942, Vale (Brazil Vale) is the world's largest iron ore producer and exporter, and the largest mining company in the Americas. It is known as Brazil's "jewel in the crown" and "the engine of the Amazon" .
Vale became the world's second-largest nickel producer after acquiring Canada's Inco in 2006. In 2020, Vale ranked second with a production of 215,000 tons of nickel, accounting for 25% of the total share. At present, the company's main nickel mine and processing business is operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vale of Canada.
Glencore (Swiss Glencore) was established in 1974. It is an international capital and resource giant. It is a global commodity trading giant. At the same time, it is also inextricably linked with the US political circle. It is known as the "Goldman Sachs of the global commodity market." ".
Glencore is one of the world's largest recyclers and processors of nickel-containing materials, including batteries, in nickel metal as well as concentrates, intermediates and ferronickel. The company owns a range of nickel-related mining assets in Canada, Norway, Australia and New Coledonia. For example, it is the controlling shareholder of Minaro Resources Ltd., Australia's second-largest nickel miner; its nickel assets in Canada include Raglan Mine and Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations in Quebec and Ontario, respectively.
In addition, it is rumored that the mastermind behind the forced position of Tsingshan Holdings is Glencore of Switzerland.
BHP (Australia BHP Billiton) is a well-known multinational company mainly engaged in oil and minerals. It was established in 1885. The company had planned to exit the nickel business to focus on other commodities and put its Nickel West unit in Australia up for sale in 2014.
But with the rise of new energy vehicles, the electric vehicle market is expected to be the fastest-growing market for nickel miners. BHP has resumed the nickel mining business and signed a nickel supply agreement with Tesla in 2021, which will provide Tesla with 18,000 tons of nickel per year.
Anglo American was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in London, England. The company has important influences in gold, platinum, diamonds, coal, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, industrial minerals, and paper and paper packaging.
In 2020, the output of Anglo American's operations in Brazil was 44,000 tons.
South32 was spun off from BHP Billiton in 2014 to form a new independent company. The company's main business includes mining and production of related metals such as aluminum, coal, and manganese.
South32's main nickel business is Cerro Matoso - a laterite nickel-iron ore mining and smelter in Colombia. Its production in Colombia in 2020 was 41,000 tons.
Eramet (France Ehrman) can be traced back to 1880. SLN was established after the discovery of nickel ore in New Caledonia and is currently headquartered in Paris, France. The group has three main businesses: manganese series products business, nickel series products business, alloy steel and special steel products business.
In 2020, Eramet's smelters in production are SLN and Sandouville, and the main products are FENI, refined nickel and nickel salts, achieving an annual nickel output of 36,000 tons in 2020.
IGO is an Australian mining and exploration company established in 2000. It initially focused on copper and gold business. In 2015, it acquired Sirius Resources, a subsidiary of Mark Creasy, one of the ten richest people in Western Australia. , the latter is dominated by nickel-copper-cobalt resources.
Terrafame was established in 2015. Unlike other mining companies, it is an official mining portal in Finland, which is dedicated to the local nickel mining industry in Finland and has a monopoly. Finland has very rich natural resources. Although it is said to be dominated by copper, there are also some non-ferrous metals, including nickel ore, in very small quantities, so private development is not allowed locally in Finland. Production in 2020 reached 29,000 tons.
MCC-JJJ Mining (China Metallurgical Ramu) is a subsidiary of China Metallurgical Corporation, located in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. So far, it is the largest overseas nickel-cobalt mine investment project by Chinese companies, with 85% ownership of the Ramu Mine in Papua New Guinea, 2020 Annual production is basically the same as Terrafame.
source:
Wall Street News, Mining Intelligence, Jiemian News, Enterprise Official Website
(Edited by China Powder Network / Changan)
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