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Friday December 8, 6:04 AMBrazil to boost ferronickel production elevenfoldRIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Brazil will boost its ferronickel production elevenfold within the next five years, becoming one of the world's leading producers, according to industry sources.Brazil's output of ferronickel, a raw material used in stainless and special steelmaking, is due to leap by 2011 to 114,000 tonnes per year in terms of nickel contained, up from the current 10,000 tonnes per year, due to new production projects recently announced. "Most of the new output will be aimed at the export market, due to the relatively limited nature of the Brazilian domestic market," an international market manager at Votorantim Metais, one of the companies to announce new projects, told Reuters. China, Japan and Europe will be the principal areas to take Brazil's new ferronickel production, the manager said. Brazil's expansion in ferronickel comes at a time when both demand for the product and its prices are soaring. The prices of ferronickel are linked to London Metals Exchange nickel metal prices, which have reached historic highs due to slow development on a worldwide basis of new nickel mining. Ferronickel is currently produced in Brazil only by Anglo Base Metals, a subsidiary of Anglo American group at its Codemin subsidiary in Goias state. Codemin increased its output to 10,000 tonnes per year of nickel contained in ferronickel last year, up from the previous 6,500 tonnes per year, Anglo Base Metals said. Earlier Thursday, Anglo American group announced a go-ahead for a new ferronickel plant at Barro Alto, also in Goias state, where it recently started up a new nickel mine, which now also supplies its Codemin plant. The $1.2 billion Barro Alto ferronickel plant is scheduled to produce 36,000 tonnes/year of nickel contained in ferronickel from 2011. Votorantim Metais last week announced a 738 million reais ($344 million) investment in the company's first ferronickel plant and related energy generation facilities. The plant is due to start up at its Niquelandia nickel mine in 2009, producing the equivalent of 10,600 tonnes per year of nickel contained. Votorantim is at present Brazil's sole nickel metal producer, with output of some 23,000 tonnes per year, which is also used in the stainless steel industry, and much of which is exported. Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) , which recently bought Inco, the world's second biggest nickel metal producer, will also move into ferronickel production in Brazil in 2008 or 2009. CVRD plans to produce 57,000 tonnes per year of nickel contained in ferronickel at its Onca Puma mine in Para state, in northern Brazil, in a project which recently gained its environmental licenses and will cost an estimated $1.1 billion, the mining company said. |
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