The Voisey Bay and McCreedy East deposits in Canada, and the Loma de Hierro deposit in Venezuela, have been identified as “outstanding” mine projects for development in a study by CRU International.
The study, entitled The Next Generation of Nickel Mine Projects, is based on technical and financial analysis of 26 nickel mine development projects.
CRU concludes that the three deposits are the most attractive, with a total annual nickel capacity of 48,300 tonnes. Production is slated to begin in 1996-97 for McCreedy East, 1998 for Loma de Hierro and 1999 for Voisey Bay.
It is estimated that some 190,000 tonnes of new annual capacity will be available by the end of the century if the leading 16 projects are developed.
Of the 16, six are in Australia, while three are in each of Canada, Africa and South America, and one is in New Caledonia. Sulphide ores occur in 10 of these projects, while the remainder are lateritic. Seven projects will be underground mines; the rest are amenable to surface mining.
CRU expects that the nickel market will remain in deficit in the medium term, with stainless steel consumption forecast to increase at 5% per year over the next decade. The London-based firm predicts that the export of Russian nickel will increase no further.
CRU predicts that demand for primary nickel units will increase as future constraints in the supply of stainless steel scrap become more pronounced.
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