2022《MINERAL COMMODITY SUMMARIES》—NICKEL

  • Friday, February 11, 2022
  • Source:ferro-alloys.com

  • Keywords:metals， alloys，steels，nickel，mill scale，swarf， liquor
[Fellow]Domestic Production and Use: In 2021, the underground Eagle Mine in Michigan produced approximately 18,000 tons of nickel in concentrate, which was exported to smelters in Canada and overseas. A company in Missouri recovered metals, including nickel, from mi...
 
 
【Ferro-alloys.com】Domestic Production and Use: In 2021, the underground Eagle Mine in Michigan produced approximately
18,000 tons of nickel in concentrate, which was exported to smelters in Canada and overseas. A company in Missouri
recovered metals, including nickel, from mine tailings as part of the Superfund Redevelopment Initiative. Nickel in
crystalline sulfate was produced as a byproduct of smelting and refining platinum-group-metal ores mined in Montana.
In the United States, the leading uses for primary nickel are alloys and steels, electroplating, and other uses including
catalysts and chemicals. Stainless and alloy steel and nickel-containing alloys typically account for more than 85% of
domestic consumption.

Salient Statistics—United States:

 

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021 e

Production:

 

 

 

 

 

  Mine

22,100

17,600

13,500

16,700

18,000

  Refinery, byproduct

W

W

W

W

W

Imports:

 

 

 

 

 

  Ores and concentrates

64

3

4

95

24

  Primary

150,000

144,000

119,000

105,000

110,000

  Secondary

38,100

45,100

37,700

31,800

35,000

Exports:

 

 

 

 

 

  Ores and concentrates

20,000

18,000

14,300

13,400

15,000

  Primary

11,000

9,780

12,800

11,300

10,000

  Secondary

51,500

59,400

47,800

34,100

29,000

Consumption:

 

 

 

 

 

  Reported, primary

105,000

107,000

105,000

e84,000

82,000

  Reported, secondary, purchased scrap

133,000

123,000

111,000

e99,000

110,000

  Apparent, primary1

140,000

136,000

106,000

94,100

100,000

Apparent, total2

273,000

259,000

217,000

e190,000

210,000

Price, average annual, London Metal Exchange (LME), cash:

 

 

 

 

 

  Dollars per metric ton

10,403

13,114

13,903

13,772

18,000

Dollars per pound

4.719

5.948

6.306

6.25

8.3

Stocks, yearend:

 

 

 

 

 

Consumer

 

14,600

16,300

13,400

13,000

13,000

LME U.S. warehouses

3,780

2,268

1,974

1,734

1,500

Net import reliance3 as a percentage of total apparent consumption

51

52

49

49

48
 
Recycling: Nickel in alloyed form was recovered from the processing of nickel-containing waste, including flue dust,
grinding swarf, mill scale, and shot blast generated during the manufacturing of stainless steel; filter cakes, plating
solutions, spent catalysts, spent pickle liquor, sludges, and all types of spent nickel-containing batteries. Nickel
containing alloys and stainless-steel scrap were also melted and used to produce new alloys and stainless steel. The
U.S. Department of Energy’s ReCell Center continued to investigate methods to more effectively recover raw
materials, including nickel, from recycled batteries. In 2021, recycled nickel in all forms accounted for approximately
52% of apparent consumption.
 
Import Sources (2017–20): Nickel contained in ferronickel, metal, oxides, and salt: Canada, 43%; Norway, 10%;
Finland, 9%; Australia, 8%; and other, 30%. Nickel-containing scrap, including nickel content of stainless-steel scrap:
Canada, 37%; Mexico, 26%; United Kingdom, 9%; and other, 28%.
 

Tariff: Item

 

Number

 

Normal Trade Relations

12–31–21

 

Nickel ores and concentrates, nickel content

2604.00.0040

Free.

Ferronickel

7202.60.0000

Free.

 

Unwrought nickel, not alloyed

7502.10.0000

Free.

 

Nickel waste and scrap

7503.00.0000

Free.

 

Nickel powders

7504.00.0010

Free.

 

Nickel flakes

7504.00.0050

Free.

 
 
Depletion Allowance: 22% (domestic), 14% (foreign).
 
Government Stockpile:4 The U.S. Department of Energy is holding nickel ingot contaminated by low-level
radioactivity at Paducah, KY, and shredded nickel scrap at Oak Ridge, TN. See Lithium for statistics on lithium-nickel
cobalt-aluminum oxide.
 

 

 

FY 2021

 

FY 2022

 

Material

 

Inventory

as of 9–30–21

 

Potential

acquisitions

 

Potential

disposals

 

Potential

acquisitions

 

Potential

disposals

 

Nickel alloys, gross weight

 

790

—

—

—

—
 
Events, Trends, and Issues: On November 9, 2021, a proposed revised U.S. critical minerals list was published in
the Federal Register (86 FR 62199). The new list contained 50 individual mineral commodities; proposed changes
were the addition of nickel and zinc and the removal of helium, potash, rhenium, strontium, and uranium, which were
included in the 2018 critical minerals list.
 
In 2021, the annual average LME cash price was estimated to have increased by 30% compared with that in 2020,
which was attributed to expectations of increased use of nickel in electric vehicle batteries and continued strong
demand for stainless steel.
 
Mine production in Indonesia increased by an estimated 30%, which was facilitated by the ongoing commissioning of
integrated nickel pig iron and stainless-steel projects. The country’s first hydrometallurgical plant began operation in
May on Obi Island. It was among several similar projects in the country that were designed to produce intermediate
nickel products to be used as feed material at battery-grade nickel sulfate plants.
World Mine Production and Reserves: Reserves for Australia, Canada, Russia, and the United States were revised
based on new information from company and (or) Government reports.
 

 

       Mine production

      Reserves5

 

 

2020

2021

 

United States

16,700

18,000

6340,000

Australia

169,000

160,000

721,000,000

Brazil

77,100

100,000

16,000,000

Canada

167,000

130,000

2,000,000

China

120,000

120,000

2,800,000

Indonesia

771,000

1,000,000

21,000,000

New Caledonia8

200,000

190,000

NA

Philippines

334,000

370,000

4,800,000

Russia

283,000

250,000

7,500,000

Other countries

373,000

410,000

20,000,000

World total (rounded)

2,510,000

2,700,000

>95,000,000
 
World Resources:5 Identified land-based resources averaging approximately 0.5% nickel or greater contain at least
300 million tons of nickel, with about 60% in laterites and 40% in sulfide deposits. Extensive nickel resources also are
found in manganese crusts and nodules on the ocean floor.
 
Substitutes: Low-nickel, duplex, or ultrahigh-chromium stainless steels have been substituted for austenitic grades in
construction. Nickel-free specialty steels are sometimes used in place of stainless steel in the power-generating and
petrochemical industries. Titanium alloys can substitute for nickel metal or nickel-base alloys in corrosive chemical
environments.
 
eEstimated. NA Not available. W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. — Zero.
1Defined as primary imports – primary exports + adjustments for industry stock changes, excluding secondary consumer stocks.
2Defined as apparent primary consumption + reported secondary consumption.
3Defined as imports – exports + adjustments for consumer stock changes.
4See Appendix B for definitions.
5See Appendix C for resource and reserve definitions and information concerning data sources.
6 Includes reserve data for three projects. An additional three domestic projects have defined resources but have not yet defined reserves.
7For Australia, Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant or equivalent reserves were 8.3 million tons.
8Overseas Territory of France.

 

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