“• The year 2014 saw a reversal in fortune as prices firmed up due to a halt in supply from Indonesia, which had a share of around 17.7% of global mine production and political tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine.
• There were significant global nickel reserves of 74Mt as at the end of February 2014, with Australia accounting for the majority at 18Mt or 24.3%, followed by New Caledonia, with a share of 16.2% and Brazil with 11.4%.
• Global refined nickel metal consumption was 1.8Mt in 2013, an increase of 6.9% over the previous year, and is projected to post a CAGR of 1.1% over the forecast period, to reach 2Mt in 2020 due to growing demand from Asia, which accounts for approximately 69.3% of global consumption demand, followed by the US and European nations.
• NPI is a cheaper substitute for pure nickel which is produced by using low grade iron and low grade nickel laterite ore.”
