BASE METALS

'Fascinating' situation unfolds as copper smelting picks up, nickel mixed

'Fascinating to watch from here'

Staff reporter
 Vale's Sudbury smelters have restarted in Canada, lifting Savant’s Americas dispersion index for nickel

Vale's Sudbury smelters have restarted in Canada, lifting Savant’s Americas dispersion index for nickel

The platform, launched two years ago by Marex and Earth-i, monitors up to 90% of global smelting capacity for copper and nickel.

It said the global dispersion index for copper rose from 49.3 in September to average 52.2 in October.

A reading above 50 indicates greater activity levels than usual.

In nickel, the index rose from 41.1 to 46, with the Americas rebounding to 55.6 as both Sudbury smelters restarted but China's NPI index falling for the fourth month in a row to 33 due to the country's energy crisis.

China's copper smelters on the other hand had been "relatively insulated" from the crisis as much of the energy needed for the transformation of concentrates to metal came from the exothermic reaction of burning contained sulphur in the furnace, rather than external sources of energy, Savant said.

"The contrasting trends between copper and nickel smelting activity in China shows how resilient - or vulnerable - each supply chain can be to exogenous shocks," Marex global head of analytics Dr Guy Wolf said.

"With expectations of future industrial activity being pared back by many analysts as the global economy looks to be normalising to its pre-pandemic trajectory, the reciprocity between industry specific factors and broader macro influences will be fascinating to watch from here."

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Journal Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Journal Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Global Leadership Report 2024: Net Zero

Gain insights into decarbonisation trends and strategies from interviews with 20+ top mining executives and experts plus an industrywide survey.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Project Pipeline Handbook 2024

View our 50 top mining projects, handpicked using a unique, objective selection process from a database of 450+ global assets.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Investor Sentiment Report 2024

Survey revealing the plans, priorities, and preferences of 120+ mining investors and their expectations for the sector in 2024.