cash cost comparisonIndonesia costs
"Cash costs for Indonesian [high-pressure acid leach] operations can be as low as $7,000/t (including cobalt byproduct credits)," Benchmark Mineral Intelligence nickel and cobalt analysts Will Talbot and Jorge Uzcategui said in an email. "This means they can weather this low price environment more easily and still realize margins for some." The $7,000/t metric equates to 3.17 cents per pound.
Well-established Indonesian nickel mines Sorowako and Pomalaa booked 2023 cash costs of $6.56/lb and $6.85/lb, respectively, according to Market Intelligence data. The Weda Bay mine in Indonesia ramped up production in 2023, but the operation produced lower volumes than expected due to a slowdown in permit approvals, according to a third-quarter 2023 earnings report from French company Eramet SA, which owns 38.7% of the mine. Cash costs at Weda Bay were $8.24/lb in 2023.
Ramu Costs
- Full year 2023 cash costs were US$3.26/lb. of nickel produced, net of byproduct credits, in MHP which consistently ranks as one of the lowest cash costs for an integrated High Pressure Acid Leach nickel operation.