Singapore 29/02/2016 - Australian nickel producer Queensland Nickel (QNI) will halt production for around eleven days due to a lack of nickel ore, a spokesman at FTI Consulting – the administrator for the company - confirmed with FastMarkets.
The stoppage is expected to start within the next 48 hours as existing ore stockpiles are run down, said the spokesman.
Maintenance will be conducted during the stoppage with production to resume once the raw material is available.
The lack of nickel ore at QNI is due to insufficient stockpiling and heavy rains in the Philippines which has impeded mining and shipments, FastMarkets understands.
QNI had entered voluntary administration on January 18 after it axed over 200 workers at its Townsville nickel refinery in Queensland blaming falling nickel prices and lack of support from the Queensland government.
The refinery is able to produce 30,000-35,000 tonnes per year of nickel. The refinery’s operating rate could not be immediately confirmed but sources said it is unlikely to be at full capacity before the planned shutdown.
Morgan Stanley said in January that a short-term closure at QNI was possible after the nickel producer entered voluntary administration.
The London Metal Exchange nickel price has fallen by over 40 percent since May last year. It was last at $8,440 per tonne on Monday, down $50 from Friday's close.