Cuba sees nickel output topping 50,000 tonnes

Reuters reported that Cuba’s nickel plus cobalt sulfide production will top 50,000 tonnes this year and earnings are up over 2017, the head of the country’s state monopoly Cubaniquel was quoted by local media as stating. The government forecast last year’s output at 54,500 tonnes. Business sources with knowledge of the industry said final tonnage was around 50,000 tonnes of nickel plus cobalt, of which just over 4,000 tonnes was cobalt. Director of Cubaniquel, Eder Manuel Olivero Garcel, told state-run television that „This year we should produce more than 50,000 tonnes of nickel. The average price has been USD 13,300 (a tonne) in 2018, despite a recent decline, so it has been a good year in terms of price for us.” Cubaniquel is the sole operator of the Che Guevara processing plant at Moa, eastern Holguin province, and also has a joint venture with Canadian miner Sherritt International Corp at the Pedro Soto Alba plant in the same area. The Che Guevara plant planned to produce 19,000 tonnes this year, while according to Sherritt the Pedro Soto Alba was slated to produce around 31,000 tonnes. Nickel is one of the cash-strapped Communist-run country’s most important exports, but revenue from it has suffered in recent years due to a decline in production and prices.The country was ranked 10th in world nickel production in 2017 and fifth in cobalt.