Indonesia is still one of the largest nickel producing countries in the world. Indonesia's total nickel production in metal form can reach two million tons per year. Nickel is one of the most widely needed mining goods by various industries in the world. By 2025, the projected global nickel demand will reach 3.5 million tons. This is driven by two main sectors, namely stainless steel and EV batteries, which have increased significantly since 2024. The following is a list of the world's largest nickel mines based on the GlobalData database in 2023:
The Weda Bay project is an open pit nickel mine located in Maluku, Indonesia. Weda Bay is owned by Tsingshan Holding Group, a private Chinese company engaged in the stainless steel and nickel industries. Nickel ore reserves in this area were first discovered in 1996 and received a concession license in 1999. In 2023, the Weda Bay mining area is estimated to produce around 516.7 thousand tons of nickel. In addition, it is predicted that this mine can still operate until 2069.
The Halmahera Persada Lygend (HPL) mining project is located on Obi Island, South Halmahera, North Maluku. The project is known to be a joint-venture between Harita Group, Lygend Resources, and Kang Xuan Pte Ltd. Nickel production from this mine targets the global EV industry, namely as a battery cathode precursor provider. For information, this nickel mine is estimated to produce 95 thousand tons of nickel throughout 2023.
Taganito Mine is an open-pit mining district located in Surigao del Norte, Philippines. This nickel mining area is owned by Nickel Asia, a nickel mining company based in the Philippines. The Taganito mine has an HPAL plant since 2013 that processes low-grade limonite ore into nickel-cobalt mixed sulfide and scandium. In 2023, Taganito mine was able to produce 70 thousand tons of nickel and is expected to operate until 2049.
The Sorowako nickel mining region is located in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Sorowako mine is owned by PT Vale Indonesia, a subsidiary of Vale S.A., a Brazilian multinational metals and mining company. Nickel reserves at the Sorowako mine are estimated at 107 million tons of ore. In 2023, the Sorowako mine produced around 64 thousand tons of nickel. This mining area is predicted to be able to produce until 2045.
Still from Indonesia, the next largest nickel mine in the world is the mine owned by PT Huayue Nickel Cobalt which operates in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), Central Sulawesi. This mine is the result of a joint-venture between Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, China Molybdenum Co. and Tsingshan Holding since October 2018. According to GlobalData data in 2023, the Huayue Nickel Cobalt mine has produced around 42 thousand tons of nickel throughout the year. This amount is supported by HPAL technology which is claimed to be able to process limonite ore into nickel-cobalt hydroxide in a more environmentally friendly and energy efficient manner.
The Ambatovy Project is a nickel mining area in Madagascar. The Ambatovy nickel mine is owned by two parties, Sumitomo Corporation (54 percent) and KOMIR or Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources (46 percent). The Ambatovy project is the largest foreign investment in Madagascar and one of the largest in sub-Saharan Africa due to a total project cost of more than US$8 billion. In 2023, the Ambatovy mine project produced about 40.9 thousand tons of nickel and is expected to operate until 2048.
The Cerro Matoso Mine is a nickel mining district in Cordoba, Colombia owned by Cerro Matoso S.A., a subsidiary of South32. South32 is a multinational mining and metals company headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. The Cerro Matoso mine is the largest open-pit ferronickel mine in South America. In 2023, this mine recorded production of around 40.8 thousand tons of nickel and is expected to continue operating until 2036.
Source: idntimes.com
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