LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Indonesia has emerged as the world’s dominant producer of nickel over the last 10 years.
Mined production last year was 771,000 tonnes, twice as much as the world’s second largest producer the Philippines and accounting for almost a third of global output, according to the International Nickel Study Group (INSG).
It is only going to grow further as investment, particularly from China, floods into Indonesia’s nickel sector.
National output could exceed a million tonnes this year and, according to Macquarie Commodity Strategy consultant Jim Lennon, will reach more than 2.5 million tonnes by the end of the decade, at which point it will have exceeded last year’s global production.
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“We looked at Toronto, and we said, ‘you know what? That still remains one of the hotspots for (mineral) exploration, for juniors, for the innovation that we see in exploration,’” said Tyler.
BHP, considered one of, if not the largest mining company in the world, produces iron ore, copper, coal and petroleum with US$42.9 billion in revenue in 2020. Copper accounted US$10.6 billion of that, the second largest revenue-generator in its portfolio, with mines in Chile and Peru; it also produces nickel in western Australia, though it remains a small part of its business.
Its head office for copper and nickel exploration was previously located in Santiago, Chile, and BHP intends to keep personnel there, as well as in Arizona, where it also has operations.
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Australia’s BHP Group Ltd. is moving its exploration headquarters for nickel and copper two metals expected to see increased future demand because of electric vehicle industry growth to Toronto.
The company’s announcement Wednesday comes after a BHP subsidiary Rio Algom Ltd. struck a partnership in August with Canadian junior Midland Exploration Inc. to fund nickel exploration in northern Quebec.
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The company has also been exploring for copper in Canada, on and off for years, Laura Tyler, BHP’s chief technical officer, told the Financial Post. But as climate change alters global commodity consumption patterns, she said nickel and copper demand are set to surge, leading the company to reevaluate where to put its people and resources.
Tsingshan Holding Group Co. made numerous bold moves on its path to becoming the world’s largest nickel producer, but its new plan to supply carmakers with cheap, clean metal could be its biggest breakthrough yet.