Nadesico Nickel Industry (NNI), the Indonesian subsidiary of major Chinese lithium-ion battery cathode active material (CAM) precursor manufacturer CNGR, produced its first batch of high-grade nickel matte (HGNM) on 6 November.
NNI has the capacity to produce nickel pig iron (NPI), low-grade nickel matte (LGNM) or HGNM, depending on market conditions and profitability.
The company is ramping up six production lines in north Morowali, Central Sulawesi, while simultaneously constructing another two lines. LGNM production capacity stands at around 80,000 t/yr in nickel metal equivalent, while the full ramp-up of all production lines could yield up to 40,000t of nickel metal equivalent in HGNM, according to CNGR.
But market participants anticipate that the NNI project will primarily focus on NPI production, with each production line having a capacity of around 12,000 t/yr in nickel metal equivalent in NPI.
HGNM is used in the production of nickel sulphate, a feedstock for lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide CAM battery or nickel production.
CNGR operates another HGNM project in Indonesia with a production capacity of 60,000 t/yr in nickel metal equivalent, along with two other projects producing LGNM, with a combined nameplate capacity of 55,000 t/yr.
CNGR, from its Indonesian operations, produced approximately 60,000t in nickel metal equivalent from January to September. This figure excludes output from its first and only class I nickel Indonesian refinery, ZWDX, which commenced production in June 2023 and has a nameplate capacity of 50,000 t/yr.
