Indonesian nickel firm Merdeka Battery Materials' (MBMA) production doubled on the quarter over July-September, while its nickel intermediates output fell over the period.
MBMA produced 4.74mn wet metric tonnes (wmt) of ores at its Sulawesi Cahaya Mineral (SCM) mine during July-September, with limonite and saprolite output more than doubling from the previous quarter to 3.70mn wmt and 1.04mn wmt respectively. Production was higher owing to better weather conditions and an increase in mining equipment.
The production guidance for saprolite ore and limonite for 2024 remained unchanged at 4-5mn wmt and 9.5-10.5mn wmt, respectively. But the output is expected to increase for 2025 after the commissioning of SCM's second feed preparation plant (FPP) by mid-2025, which is projected to process above 9mn wmt/yr of limonite ore, according to the firm's quarterly report.
The SCM mine currently supplies saprolite ore to MBMA's rotary kiln electric furnaces (RKEF) smelters and limonite ore to the Huayue Nickel Cobalt high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plants. The RKEF smelters produced 20,557t of nickel in nickel pig iron (NPI) and low-grade nickel matte (LGNM) during July-September, down by 6.1pc on the quarter. High-grade nickel matte (HGNM) output fell by 3.2pc to 12,979t of nickel over the same period.
The company maintained its 2024 production guidance for HGNM and NPI at 50,000-55,000t and 80,000-85,000t of nickel, respectively.
MBMA collaborates with major battery manufacturing firms, targeting its limonite output from the SCM mine to support production of over 300,000 t/yr of nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP).
MBMA has two partnerships with Chinese cathode precursor and nickel producer Green Eco-Manufacture to develop PT ESG HPAL plant and PT Meiming HPAL plant with a nameplate capacity of 30,000 t/yr and 25,000 t/yr of nickel in MHP, respectively. The SCM mine will be supplying limonite ore to both plants after the commissioning of new FPP.
MBMA also has another partnership with Brunp, a subsidiary of China's largest power battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology, to develop a HPAL plant with a nameplate capacity of 60,000 t/yr of nickel in MHP.
