Sherritt lifts 2020 nickel guidance

Nickel and cobalt producer Sherritt raised its 2020 nickel production guidance from the previous year at its Moa joint-venture in Cuba, while cobalt output expectations were unchanged.

Sherritt expects to produce 32,000-34,000 metric tons (t) of nickel in 2020 at its joint-venture enterprise with General Nickel of Cuba, up by about 3pc from last year. Cobalt production outlook for the site is unchanged from the previous year at 3,300-3,600 t/yr.

Nickel output from the Moa joint venture increased by 8pc to 33,108t in 2019, while cobalt production moved higher by 4pc to 3,376t of cobalt in the same period.

At Ambatovy in Madagascar, Sherritt's former joint venture with Sumitomo and Korean Resources, nickel production increased by 2pc to 33,733t in 2019 compared with the previous year and cobalt production also grew by 2pc to 2,900t from the prior year period.

Sherritt became a defaulting shareholder in the Ambatovy Nickel Project on 5 March 2019. It did not provide production guidance for the upcoming year as it no longer considers it an operating segment for its accounting purposes.

By Nicholas Bell