Global and China Nickel Industry Report, 2011-2012

Due to the nickel projects of Anglo American’ Barro Alto and VALE’s On?a Puma being put into production as well as China’s increased output of nickel pig iron, the global nickel output saw a year-on-year increase of 10.0% to 1.589 million tons in 2011, with the consumption rising 6.9% YoY to 1.572 million tons. In 2012, the successive putting into production of the nickel projects worldwide as well as the releasing of new capacities will pose the mounting pressure on nickel oversupply, with the estimated excess hitting 50,000 tons.?? ?

As opposed to the global demand-supply pattern, the nickel of China has long been witnessing short supply. In 2011, the stainless steel output of China surged by 11.9% year-on-year, greatly facilitating consumption of nickel. Subsequently, the nickel consumption worldwide increased by 17.1% year-on-year, far ahead of the global consumption growth rate in the corresponding period. In the meantime, China’s nickel output also witnessed skyrocketing growth. And nickel pig iron output presented the most rapid growth. In 2010, the nickel output of China reached 326,000 tons, among which, the nickel pig iron output amounted to 161,000 tons, exceeding the electrolytic nickel output for the first time. And nickel pig iron ranked the first in terms of output of all nickel-based products in China. In 2011, China nickel output approximated 446,000 tons, with the proportion of electrolytic nickel and nickel pig iron registering 41.5% and 56.5%, respectively.

In recent years, the nickel pig iron market of China has experienced robust growth, which largely contributes to the following aspects: firstly, stainless steel businesses consumer more and more nickel pig iron with the proportion for some as high as 50% or more; secondly, nickel pig iron smelting technology advances. Presently, the advanced and environment-friendly RKEF technology has been popular in the nickel pig iron industry and became the mainstream.

For China, nearly all the demand for laterite nickel ore in the production of nickel pig iron is imported from other countries. In 2011, China’s import of nickel ore sands and concentrates from Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia accumulatively amounted to 48.056 million tons, up 92.4% from a year earlier, in particular, laterite nickel ore made up over 98%. In 2012, Indonesia officially announced to levy 20% export tarrif on 14 kinds of raw ore including nickel from May 6 on, a move will shrink the supply of laterite nickel ore in China while pushing the nickel price up.

As a substitute for metallic nickel, the nickel pig iron price is subject to the nickel price of LME. In 2011, the nickel price of LME plunged, and domestic nickel price showed a downward mobility.? In particular, the prices of nickel pig iron with medium and high content of nickel declined to a varied extent, whereas, the price of nickel pig iron with low content of nickel increased due to the growing demand from 200 series stainless steel.

The report focuses on nickel demand & supply, nickel price trend and nickel pig iron market in China and beyond. Also, it highlights four international tycoons, such as Norilsk Nickel and Sale SA, as well as seven key China-based manufactures such as Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd., Jinlin Ji En Nickel Industry Co., ltd., Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry Co., Ltd., etc.

Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd is the largest nickel manufacturer in China, with the output in 2011 hitting 130,000 tons, ranking global No.3.

Jinlin Ji En Nickel Industry Co., Ltd is not only China’s second largest nickel manufacturer, but also the country’s largest nickel salt producer, mainly involved in the production of electrolytic nickel and nickel sulfate, with the combined revenue in 2011 accounting for 62.85% of the total.

Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry Co., Ltd. boasts abundant nickel ore resources. In 2011, the nickel metal amount hit 572,600 tons, and its electrolytic nickel output registered 8,128 tons, making up 4.4% of China’s total.

Table of Contents

1. Nickel Overview
1.1 Definition
1.2 Nickel Ore Resources
1.3 Nickel Smelting

2 Nickel Supply and Demand Worldwide
2.1 Supply
2.2 Consumption
2.2.1 Volume
2.2.2 Structure
Summary

3 Nickel Resources in China
3.1 Nickel Ore Reserves and Distribution
3.2 Supply & Demand of Chinese Nickel Ore
3.3 Nickel Ore Price
3.3.1 Nickel Ore Price in China
3.3.2 Import Price
Summary

4 Supply & Demand in Chinese Nickel Market
4.1 Production
4.1.1 Output
4.1.2 Output Structure
4.2 Consumption
4.2.1 Volume
4.2.2 Structure
4.2.3 Stainless Steel Market
4.3 Import &Export
4.3.1 Import
4.3.2 Export

5 Nickel Price
5.1 International Nickel Price
5.2 Nickel Price in China

6 China’s Nickel Pig Iron Market
6.1 Overview
6.2 Supply & Demand
6.2.1 Supply
6.2.2 Demand
6.3 Import & Export
6.4 Price Trend
6.5 Problems of Chinese Nickel Pig Iron Industry
Summary

7 Key Nickel Corporations Worldwide
7.1 Norilsk Nickel
7.1.1 Profile
7.1.2 Operation
7.1.3 Development in China
7.2 Vale SA
7.2.1 Profile
7.2.2 Operation
7.2.3 Development in China
7.3 BHP Billiton
7.3.1Profile
7.3.2 Operation
7.3.3 Development in China
7.4 Xstrata Plc
7.4.1 Profile
7.4.2 Operation
7.4.3 Development in China
Summary

8 Key Nickel Companies in China
8.1 Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd.
8.1.1 Profile
8.1.2 Operation
8.1.3 R & D and Investment
8.2 Jilin Ji En Nickel Industry Co., Ltd.
8.2.1 Profile
8.2.2 Operation
8.2.3 Revenue Structure
8.2.4 Gross Margin
8.2.5 Investment
8.3 Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry Co., Ltd.
8.3.1 Profile
8.3.2 Operation
8.3.3 Gross Margin
8.3.4 Nickel Ore Development Progress
8.4 China Nickel Resources Holdings
8.4.1 Profile
8.4.2 Operation
8.4.3 R & D and Investment
8.5 Jiangxi Jiangli Sci-Tech Co., Ltd.
8.5.1Profile
8.5.2 Operation
8.5.3 R&D and Investment
8.6 Guangxi Yinyi Smelting Technology Co., Ltd.
8.6.1 Profile
8.6.2 Operation
8.7 Shaanxi Huaze Nickel & Cobalt Metal Co., Ltd.
8.7.1 Profile
8.7.2 Operation
Summary

List of Charts

Nickel Reserves Worldwide, 2000-2010
Distribution of Nickel Reserves (by Country) Worldwide, 2010
Distribution of Nickel Sources (by Product) Worldwide, 2008
Output of Nickel Worldwide, 2004-2012
World’s Top 10 Enterprises by Nickel Output, 2011
Consumption of Nickel Worldwide, 2004-2012
Global Stainless Crude Steel Output and YoY Growth Rate, 2007-2012
Output Breakdown of Stainless Crude Steel by Product Worldwide, 2011
Consumption Structure of Nickel Worldwide, 2011
Supply and Demand Balance of Nickel Worldwide, 2009-2012
Main Types and Proportions of Nickel Ore Resources in China
Distribution of Nickel Ore Reserves (by Province/City) in China
China’s Import Volume of Nickel Ore & Concentrates, 2007-2012
Import Volume and Import Value of Nickel Ore & Concentrates (by Country) in China, 2010-2011
Top 10 Provinces and Cities by Import Value of Nickel Ore & Concentrates in China, 2011
Inventory of China's Laterite-nickel Ore in Ports, 2011
Nickel Smelter Projects in Southeast Asia Invested by Chinese Companies in Recent Years
Price of Nickel Laterite in China, 2009-2012
Import Price of Nickel Ore Sands & Concentrates in China, 2009-2012
Output of Nickel in China, 2005-2011
Output Structure of Nickel in China, 2007-2011
Consumption of Nickel in China, 2006-2011
Consumption Structure of Nickel in China, 2004-2010
Advantages and Disadvantages of Nickel-containing Materials for Stainless Steel Smelting in China
Stainless Crude Steel Output and YoY Growth Rate of China, 2007-2012
Stainless Crude Steel Output and YoY Growth Rate of China by Product, 2011
Price of 300 Series Stainless Steel Coil in China, 2011-2012
Import Volume of Refined Nickel, 2007-2012
Refined Nickel Import Volume (by Country/Region) of China, 2009-2012
Export Tariffs on Series of Nickel Product in China, 2011
China’s Export Volume of Refined Nickel and Alloys, 2007-2012
China’s Export Volume of Refined Nickel and Alloys (by Country/Region), 2009-2012
Inventory and Spot Price of LME Nickel, 2011-2012
Spot Price of CCMN Nickel,2011-2012
Laterite Nickel Ore (by Grade) Smelting Methods and Classification of Nickel Pig Iron Products in China
Nickel Pig Iron Output of China, 2007-2011 (Content of Nickel)
Main Nickel Projects under Construction in China, 2011
Stainless Steel Output (by Product) Structure of China, 2011
Import & Export of Nickel Pig Iron in China, 2009-2012
Import of Chinese Nickel Pig Iron by Country of Origin, 2011
Export of Chinese Nickel Pig Iron by Destination, 2011
Price of Nickel Pig Iron in China, 2011-2012
Production Cost Structure of Nickel Pig Iron Made by Blast Furnace and Electric Furnace Smelting in China, 2011
Ore Resources and Reserves of Norilsk Nickel
Main Metal Output of Norilsk Nickel, 2005-2011
Total Revenue and Gross Profit of Norilsk Nickel, 2006-2011
Revenue of Norilsk Nickel by Product, 2009-2011
Revenue and Net Income of Vale SA, 2007-2011
Revenue of Vale SA by Business, 2009-2011
Nickel Producers Affiliated to Vale SA and Distribution by Region
Operation of Nickel Ore of Vale SA, 2009-2011
Nickel Output of Vale SA, 2008-2011
Nickel Sales Structure of Vale SA by Region, 2011
Output and YoY Growth Rate of BHP Billiton by Product, FY2011
Output and Sales Volume of BHP Billiton by Region, FY2010-FY2011
Revenue and Operating Income of Xstrata plc, 2006-2011
Revenue and YoY Growth Rate of Xstrata plc by Product, 2010-2011
Nickel Revenue and Operating Income of Xstrata plc, 2009-2011
Nickel Output of Xstrata plc, 2009-2011
Nickel Sales Volume of Xstrata plc, 2009-2011
Top 5 Corporations by Nickel Output and Share Worldwide, 2011
Profile of Jinchuan Group
Revenue and Gross Profit of Jinchuan Group, 2007-2012
Output of Jinchuan Group by Product, 2007-2012
Profile of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry
Revenue and Net Income of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry, 2008-2012
Revenue Structure of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry by Product, 2010-2011
Gross Margin of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry by Product, 2009-2011
Domestic Nickel Resources and Reserves of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry, 2011
Overseas Nickel Resources and Reserves of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry, 2011
Profile of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry
Revenue and Net Income of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2007-2011
Electrolytic Nickel Output of Xinxin Mining Industry, 2006-2012
Revenue of Nickel of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry by Product, 2009-2011
Gross Margin of Xinxin Mining Industry, 2006-2011
Nickel Resources of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2011
Nickel Reserves of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2011
Nickel Ore Smelting Capacity of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2009-2011
Profile of China Nickel Resources Holdings
Revenue and Net Income of China Nickel Resources Holdings, 2006-2011
Profile of Jiangxi Jiangli
Profile of Guangxi Yinyi
Profile of Shaanxi Huaze Nickel & Cobalt Metal