Nickel market to see supply tightness starting in 2014: Western Areas CFO

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

The global nickel market is set to experience some tightness in supplies for smelters starting in 2014, with the potential of increasing pressure on nickel pig iron production in China exacerbating the situation, Joe Belladonna, CFO of Australian producer Western Areas, said Thursday.

“Nickel laterites and nickel pig iron are not capable of filling this sulphide void at a time when the metal is increasingly being recognized and sought for its strategic application in stainless steel and other products with quite extraordinary performance characteristics,” he told a conference.

Belladonna expects the “pinch point” for quality nickel sulphide concentrates to occur around 2015.