China’s Huayou Cobalt joins hands with Vale to build second nickel processing plant in Indonesia

 

>>REAL-TIME UPDATES IN THE WIRE. CLICK HERE<<<

 

 

Huayou Cobalt, a major suppliers of raw material for lithium battery production, said it would again join hands with Vale to build a second nickel mineral processing plant in Indonesia to meet the downstream demand and take advantage of the global mining giant’s local resources.

Huayou will set up a project company in the Southeast Asian country to develop the plant that will use its high-pressure acid leaching processing technology to process limonite ore produced by Vale’s Sorowako mine as raw material to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate products and the projects has a potential annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes of nickel, according to the framework cooperation agreement signed by the two companies.

The pair teamed up for the first time in April when they agreed to build a processing plant using limonite extracted by Vale from the Pomalaa mine in Indonesia to make MHP products, with a potential capacity of 120,000 tonnes of nickel per year.

Huayou did not reveal the investment amount for the project but mentioned that Vale has an option to own up to 30% of the project company. Investors may as well have the right to sell the MHP products of the plant depending on their shareholding ratio in the firm. The parties may also consider expanding the production capacity of the plant if the limonite supply increases, Huayou added.