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Released September 05, 2024 | NEW DELHI
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In recent years, Indonesia has solidified its position as the leading player in the global nickel market. The metal is widely used in stainless steel production, steel plating and battery manufacturing. In 2023, Indonesia alone accounted for 50% of the world's mined nickel production.
This growth, driven by the country's vast nickel ore reserves, a raw ore export ban and strategic government policies and incentives, has led to significant investments in ferronickel smelters and related nickel processing capacity across the country.
Indonesia's 2020 ban on raw nickel ore exports has been a key catalyst for the growth of the country's nickel industry. The ban has compelled both domestic and foreign companies to establish ore processing facilities, such as ferronickel smelters, within Indonesia.
This has also led to the development of major nickel hubs in the region, such as the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), Delong Industrial Park and Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP). In these key areas, smelters are built side by side to produce ferronickel, with government incentives strategically designed to enhance the industry's productivity.
The nickel hubs are primarily funded by foreign direct investment from Chinese smelter companies, such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company (Zhejiang), Jiangsu Delong Nickel Company Limited (Yancheng) and Tsingshan Holding Group (Wenzhou). These companies have collaborated with state-owned entities to create industrial parks, mining hubs, terminals, ports and supporting infrastructure to strengthen Indonesia's ferronickel production capacity.
With most of Indonesia's nickel ore now directed toward these nickel industrial hubs, the global supply of nickel ore has tightened significantly. This scarcity resulted in sharp increases in international nickel prices and its derivative products in 2022. Additionally, ferronickel exports have seen a surge in demand across Asia, especially in countries like China, India and South Korea, where the stainless-steel industry is expanding rapidly.
Companies planning to develop processing plants are now shifting their focus from ferronickel products to higher-grade nickel metals. With Indonesia saturated with ferronickel smelters, the emphasis has moved to processing lower-grade ores to produce higher-grade nickel for batteries, resulting in a surge in billion-dollar high pressure acid leach (HPAL) projects. However, as nickel prices have declined from their peaks in 2022, many smelter companies have put several projects on hold or abandoned them due to the current market conditions.
Industrial Info is tracking nearly 90 active capital spending projects, worth more than US$19 billion, geared for ferronickel smelter projects. Of this spending, approximately 23% is aimed at grassroot projects, 37% accounts for plant expansions and 36% attributed to unit addition projects. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
Projects facing delays due to market conditions include Huayou Cobalt's HPAL expansion and the Phase III expansion of the US$1 billion Obi HPAL project by Indonesia's Harita Group (Jakarta) and China's Lygend Resources & Technology Company Limited. Subscribers can click here for the Huayou Cobalt project reports and click here for the Obi Island HPAL project reports.
Additionally, the US$1.5 billion Ceria-Kobalt HPAL project by state-owned PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama (Makassar, Indonesia) still is awaiting the completion of its other ferronickel smelter phases before it can proceed. Subscribers can click here for the project report.
Key players in the market include Harita Group, PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama, Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Company Limited, Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and PT Anugerah Surya Pacific Resources, which together account for 64% of total Indonesian spending.
Harita Group is the leading investor, with investments totaling US$6.68 billion across 14 projects. Among these, one of the highest-spending projects involves an investment of US$1.14 billion to expand its existing ferronickel smelter complex in South Halmahera, Indonesia. This expansion aims to produce 185,000 tons of ferronickel annually. Construction is already underway and is expected to be completed by June 2026. Subscribers can click here for the project report.
Another key player, Vale SA, is committing substantial resources, with up to US$1.7 billion invested in ferronickel smelters. This includes approximately US$1 billion allocated to a grassroot ferronickel smelter complex. As part of the US$2.4 billion Indonesia Growth Project (IGP) in Morowali, Vale plans to build a green ferronickel smelter complex using rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) technology, designed to produce 73,000 tons of ferronickel annually. Subscribers can click here for the project report.
Subscribers can click here for the project reports mentioned in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
This growth, driven by the country's vast nickel ore reserves, a raw ore export ban and strategic government policies and incentives, has led to significant investments in ferronickel smelters and related nickel processing capacity across the country.
Indonesia's 2020 ban on raw nickel ore exports has been a key catalyst for the growth of the country's nickel industry. The ban has compelled both domestic and foreign companies to establish ore processing facilities, such as ferronickel smelters, within Indonesia.
This has also led to the development of major nickel hubs in the region, such as the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), Delong Industrial Park and Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP). In these key areas, smelters are built side by side to produce ferronickel, with government incentives strategically designed to enhance the industry's productivity.
The nickel hubs are primarily funded by foreign direct investment from Chinese smelter companies, such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company (Zhejiang), Jiangsu Delong Nickel Company Limited (Yancheng) and Tsingshan Holding Group (Wenzhou). These companies have collaborated with state-owned entities to create industrial parks, mining hubs, terminals, ports and supporting infrastructure to strengthen Indonesia's ferronickel production capacity.
With most of Indonesia's nickel ore now directed toward these nickel industrial hubs, the global supply of nickel ore has tightened significantly. This scarcity resulted in sharp increases in international nickel prices and its derivative products in 2022. Additionally, ferronickel exports have seen a surge in demand across Asia, especially in countries like China, India and South Korea, where the stainless-steel industry is expanding rapidly.
Companies planning to develop processing plants are now shifting their focus from ferronickel products to higher-grade nickel metals. With Indonesia saturated with ferronickel smelters, the emphasis has moved to processing lower-grade ores to produce higher-grade nickel for batteries, resulting in a surge in billion-dollar high pressure acid leach (HPAL) projects. However, as nickel prices have declined from their peaks in 2022, many smelter companies have put several projects on hold or abandoned them due to the current market conditions.
Industrial Info is tracking nearly 90 active capital spending projects, worth more than US$19 billion, geared for ferronickel smelter projects. Of this spending, approximately 23% is aimed at grassroot projects, 37% accounts for plant expansions and 36% attributed to unit addition projects. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
Projects facing delays due to market conditions include Huayou Cobalt's HPAL expansion and the Phase III expansion of the US$1 billion Obi HPAL project by Indonesia's Harita Group (Jakarta) and China's Lygend Resources & Technology Company Limited. Subscribers can click here for the Huayou Cobalt project reports and click here for the Obi Island HPAL project reports.
Additionally, the US$1.5 billion Ceria-Kobalt HPAL project by state-owned PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama (Makassar, Indonesia) still is awaiting the completion of its other ferronickel smelter phases before it can proceed. Subscribers can click here for the project report.
Key players in the market include Harita Group, PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama, Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Company Limited, Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and PT Anugerah Surya Pacific Resources, which together account for 64% of total Indonesian spending.
Harita Group is the leading investor, with investments totaling US$6.68 billion across 14 projects. Among these, one of the highest-spending projects involves an investment of US$1.14 billion to expand its existing ferronickel smelter complex in South Halmahera, Indonesia. This expansion aims to produce 185,000 tons of ferronickel annually. Construction is already underway and is expected to be completed by June 2026. Subscribers can click here for the project report.
Another key player, Vale SA, is committing substantial resources, with up to US$1.7 billion invested in ferronickel smelters. This includes approximately US$1 billion allocated to a grassroot ferronickel smelter complex. As part of the US$2.4 billion Indonesia Growth Project (IGP) in Morowali, Vale plans to build a green ferronickel smelter complex using rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) technology, designed to produce 73,000 tons of ferronickel annually. Subscribers can click here for the project report.
Subscribers can click here for the project reports mentioned in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
