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Jakarta – Nickel miner Vale Indonesia will divest a further 20% stake of the company to Indonesian parties within five years, the firm’s chief executive said on Friday, after signing an amended mining contract with the government of Indonesia.

Vale has already divested a 20% stake via its public listing on the Indonesian Stock Exchange.

Read more at: http://www.miningweekly.com/article/vale-to-divest-20-of-indonesian-unit-within-five-years–ceo-2014-10-17

Global nickel usage has increased this year thanks to improved economic factors in the first half of the year, and is expected to rise again next year, according to the International Nickel Study Group (INSG).

Every day, hundreds of end-use metal parts are being produced around the globe by means of additive manufacturing technologies. Materials which are lighter, cheaper, and more capable of standing up to a host of environmental changes such as air temperature and pressure are being created using new additive technologies such as Electron Beam Melting (EBM). The future is certainly bright when it comes to the various applications within the medical, aerospace, and energy production fields, where these technologies are enabling new innovative products and designs. In fact, it may have just gotten a bit brighter thanks to a discovery made by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) using an Arcam EBM system.

Read more at: http://3dprint.com/19477/ebm-printing-3d-ornl/

Burundi’s mining industry launched the first activities for nickel at the Musongati site, southwest of the country, estimated to contain 150 million tons of the metal.

Read more at: http://www.ambriefonline.com/2014/10/burundi-launches-first-mining-activities-nickel-musongati-site/

The researchers at ORNL demonstrated the method using an ARCAM electron beam melting system (EBM), in which successive layers of a metal powder are fused together by an electron beam into a three-dimensional product. By manipulating the process to precisely manage the solidification on a microscopic scale, the researchers demonstrated 3-dimensional control of the microstructure, or crystallographic texture, of a nickel-based part during formation.

Read more at: http://www.newswise.com/articles/ornl-research-reveals-unique-capabilities-of-3-d-printing

This electric generator is thin, transparent, lightweight and bendable.

“This material — just a single layer of atoms — could be made as a wearable device, perhaps integrated into clothing, to convert energy from your body movement to electricity and power wearable sensors or medical devices, or perhaps supply enough energy to charge your cell phone in your pocket,” says James Hone, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia and co-leader of the research.

Read more at: http://news.discovery.com/tech/alternative-power-sources/atom-thin-material-bends-generates-electricity-141015.htm

Mick Davis, former Xstrata Plc chief executive officer, got an additional $1 billion from investors for his X2 Resources mining startup, bringing the total he has raised for the business to $4.8 billion.

MANILA, Oct 14 (Reuters) – Seasonal rains are set to disrupt nickel mining in the Philippines for the next four months or so, crimping exports to top buyer China and stoking a shortfall in the global supply of ore.

Miners in the Philippines say they will be able to fulfil their 2014 contracts as they have factored in the impact of the annual monsoon.

But, with a ban on raw metal shipments by former top exporter Indonesia, the seasonal decline in the Philippines’ output could force China’s vast stainless steel industry to run down its stocks of nickel ore, reigniting a rally in nickel prices.

Most producers in the Philippines’ main nickel mining region of Caraga are expected to close operations as normal from October or November until early next year in anticipation of heavy rains.

 

Read more at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-2791925/Monsoon-curb-Philippines-nickel-mining-hurt-China-supply.html

BUJUMBURA, Burundi – Burundi last week saw the launch of the first mining activities for nickel at the Musongati site. It has an estimated 150 million tons of the metal. 

The ceremonies were chaired by the Burundi Second Vice-President Dr. Gervais Rufyikiri, in, Rutana Province, southern Burundi.

The Musongati mine will be exploited in a joint enterprise called Burundi Musongati Mining (BMM). It is made of Burundi Mining Metallurgy International and the Burundi government.

Read more at: http://www.busiweek.com/index1.php?Ctp=2&pI=1993&pLv=3&srI=54&spI=100&cI=11

Record nickel stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange mask a balanced market as supplies were shifted out of China after a financing scandal, according to Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer.

As much as 100,000 metric tons of the industrial metal may have been shipped to LME warehouses after banks tightened rules on loan collateral, according to Anton Berlin, head of strategic marketing at Norilsk. Lenders stopped accepting warrants from China after Qingdao port warehouses issued documents backed by more metal than they held.

Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-12/china-nickel-depletion-fuels-lme-stockpile-growth-norilsk-says.html