China Nickel Industry Report, 2009-2010

• Publication date: July 2010

The report starts from the development of nickel industry all over the world, and focuses upon analysis of nickel resource reserves, status quo of supply and demand in the market, import & export, price trend, substitutive product (ferro-nickel) and key enterprises etc in China. The nickel industry of China is characterized as follows: First, China is short of nickel reserve; Basic reserve of nickel reaches 7.6 million tons in China, a ...

The report starts from the development of nickel industry all over the world, and focuses upon analysis of nickel resource reserves, status quo of supply and demand in the market, import & export, price trend, substitutive product (ferro-nickel) and key enterprises etc in China. The nickel industry of China is characterized as follows:

First, China is short of nickel reserve;
Basic reserve of nickel reaches 7.6 million tons in China, a share of only 5% in global total, which converges in Gansu province (taking 62% of China’s total nickel reserves) and are led by copper-nickel sulfide ore (accounting for 91% of China’s total nickel reserves).

Second, the production and sales of China’s nickel industry showed the sustained growth in recent years;
In recent years, nickel output and consumption keeps falling worldwide, with the supply exceeding market demand. Inflicted by financial crisis in 2008, global nickel price slumped and nickel enterprises cut their production in succession. As a result, nickel output decreased to 1.378 million tons, down 3.2% year-on-year. In the same year, the world’s consumption of nickel fell 3.4% year-on-year to 1.278 million tons affected by the declining demand of stainless steel. In all, the surplus of supply got to 100,000 tons in 2008. The global nickel market still remained sluggish in 2009 when nickel output amounted to 1.329 million tons, decreasing by 3.6%; nickel consumption hit 1.232 million tons; and supply overplus arrived at 97,000 tons.

In contrast, the nickel production and sales of China nickel industry keeps growing, with the supply falling short of market demand. In 2008, nickel output and consumption of China reached 133,000 tons and 320,000 tons respectively, with a demand gap of 187,000 tons. Then in 2009, the figures rose to 216,000 tons and 447,000 tons respectively, a growing demand gap of 231,000 tons.

Third, China relies upon import of nickel ore and concentrates since its scarcity of nickel resources;
In 2009, China imported 16.4 million tons of nickel ore and concentrates mainly from the Philippines (8.6915 million tons, a 52.9% share of total import volume), Indonesia (7.1743 million tons, a 43.7% share of total import volume), and other countries. Meanwhile, China’s import of refined nickel got to 250,000 tons in 2009, primarily sourced from Russia (84,400 tons), Australia (48,000 tons) and others. In the same year, China exported 33,600 tons of refined nickel and alloy to South Korea, Hong Kong (China), Taiwan (China), etc.

Fourth, nickel price runs nearly the same in China and the world at large, and it presented the uptrend of fluctuations in the year of 2009;

Next, ferro-nickel emerged in the era of high nickel prices in China, which gets wholly used in stainless steel field and depends on import;

China’s ferro-nickel industry emerged in 2005 and expanded in 2007. The nickel content of ferro-nickel improves rapidly. The output of ferro-nickel was up from 2,000 tons in 2005 to 108,000 tons in 2007. Due to the reasonable regression of nickel price as well as the influences of financial crisis, the ferro-nickel output dropped to 55,000 tons in 2008, and it hit around 100,000 tons in 2009.

Ferro-nickel is produced from the smelting of laterite-nickel ore, and it has to rely on import since China is short of laterite nickel ore. In 2009, China imported 227,000 tons of ferro-nickel accumulatively from Columbia (a 33.4% share of total import volume), Japan (a 30.8% share of total import volume), and New Caledonia (a 16.7% share of total import volume). From January to April of 2010, China’s import of ferro-nickel from Japan increased to some extent, with the rising proportion of imports from Japan to 33%.

Last, nickel output of Jinchuan Group, as the largest producer of nickel in China, reached 130,000 tons in 2009, accounting for 60.2% of total nickel output of China and ranking second worldwide.

Chemical Industry in China

1. Global Nickel Industry Development
1.1 Distribution of Nickel Resources Worldwide
1.2 Nickel Supply & Demand
1.3 Nickel Market Patterns
1.3.1 Production Pattern
1.3.2 Consumption Pattern

2. China Nickel Industry Development
2.1 Distribution of Nickel Resources in China
2.2 Overview of Industry Development
2.3 Characteristics of Operation

3. Supply & Demand in Chinese Nickel Market
3.1 Nickel Supply
3.1.1 Nickel Output
3.1.2 Major Production Regions of Nickel
3.1.3 Output of Key Manufacturers
3.1.4 Key Nickel Projects
3.2 Nickel Demand
3.2.1 Consumption Structure
3.2.2 Consumption Quantity

4. Nickel Export & Import of China
4.1 Nickel Import
4.1.1 Import of Refined Nickel
4.1.2 Import of Nickel Ore
4.2 Nickel Export

5. Nickel Prices in Chinese Market
5.1 International Nickel Price
5.2 Nickel Price in China

6. China Ferro-Nickel Industry
6.1 Ferro-Nickel Profile
6.2 Ferro-Nickel Supply & Demand
6.2.1 Supply
6.2.2 Demand
6.3 Ferro-Nickel Import
6.4 Ferro-Nickel Price

7. Key Enterprises
7.1 Jinchuan Group
7.1.1 Profile
7.1.2 Operation
7.1.3 Development Strategy
7.2 Jilin Jien Nickel Industry
7.2.1 Profile
7.2.2 Operation
7.2.3 Development Strategy
7.3 Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry
7.3.1 Profile
7.3.2 Operation
7.3.3 Development Strategy
7.4 Sino-Platinum Metals
7.4.1 Profile
7.4.2 Operation
7.4.3 Nickel Business
7.4.4 Development Strategy
7.5 Jiangxi Jiangli Sci-Tech
7.5.1 Profile
7.5.2 Operation
7.6 Guangxi Yinyi Mining and Metallurgical Technology
7.6.1 Profile
7.6.2 Operation
7.7 Shaanxi Huaze Nickel-Cobalt Metals
7.7.1 Profile
7.7.2 Operation

Selected charts
Distribution of Nickel Sources (by Country) Worldwide, 2008
Distribution of Nickel Sources (by Product) Worldwide, 2008
Global Nickel Output and Consumption, 2004-2009
Global Stainless Steel Output and Growth Rate, 2007-2010
Distribution of Nickel Output (by Region) Worldwide, 2004-2009
World’s Top 10 Enterprises by Nickel Output, 2009
Distribution of Nickel Consumption (by Region) Worldwide, 2004-2009
Consumption Structure of Nickel Terminal Products Worldwide, 2009
Main Types and Proportions of Nickel Ore Resources in China
Distribution of Nickel Ore Reserves (by Province/City) in China
Nickel Output and YoY Growth of China, 2006-2010
Nickel Output (by Province/City) in China, 2009
Electrolytic Nickel Output of Key Nickel Manufacturers in China, 2008-2009
Key Nickel Projects in China, 2009-2011
Nickel Consumption Structure in China, 2008
Crude Stainless Steel Output and YoY Growth of China, 2007-2010
Nickel Consumption of China, 2006-2009
Import Volume of Refined Nickel, 2007-2010
Monthly Import Volume of Refined Nickel, 2009-2010
Refined Nickel Import Volume (by Country/Region) of China, 2009-2010
China’s Import Volume of Nickel Ore & Concentrates, 2007-2010
China’s Import Volume of Nickel Ore & Concentrates (by Country), 2009-2010
Top 10 Importers of Nickel Ore in China, May, 2010
China’s Export Volume of Refined Nickel and Alloys, 2007-2010
China’s Export Volume of Refined Nickel and Alloys by Month, 2009-2010
China’s Export Volume of Refined Nickel and Alloys (by Country/Region), 2009-2010
A Three-Month Closing Price Trend of Nickel in LME, 2009-Jul.13, 2010
Average Daily Spot Price Trend of 1#Nickel in China, 2009-Jul.8, 2010
Tax-Inclusive Price Trend of 1#Nickel in Major Cities, China, Jan.-Jul., 2010
Laterite Nickel Ore (by Grade) Smelting Methods and Classification of Ferro-Nickel Products in China
Ferro-Nickel Output of China, 2005-2009 (Content of Nickel)
Comparison of Ferro-Nickel Manufacturers in China, 2007-2009
The Number of Blast Furnace Ferro-Nickel Producers in Key Provinces and Regions, China, 2007-2009
The Number of Electric Furnace Ferro-Nickel Producers in Key Provinces and Regions, China, 2007-2009
Stainless Steel Output (by Product) Structure of China, 2008
Ferro-Nickel Import Volume of China by Month, 2009-2010
Ferro-Nickel Import Volume (by Origin) of China, 2009
Structure of Ferro-Nickel Import Volume (by Origin) of China, Jan.-Apr., 2010
Price Trend of Ferro-Nickel with 4-6% Grade of China, Jan.15 to Jul.15, 2010
Price Trend of Ferro-Nickel with 8-15% Grade of China, Jan.15 to Jul.15, 2010
Operating Income and Profit of Jinchuan Group, 2007-2009
Nickel and Copper Output of Jinchuan Group, 2007-2010
Operating Income and Net Income of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry, 2008-2010
Nickel Sulfate Revenue and Ratio of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry, 2007-2009
Output Capacity (by Sector) of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry, 2008-2009
Key Overseas Projects of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry
Construction Projects with Raised Capital and Investment of Jilin Jien Nickel Industry, July 2nd, 2010
Operating Income and Net Income of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2007-2009
Operating Income (by Sector) of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2009
Electrolytic Nickel Output of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2006-2009
Kalatongke Copper-Nickel Mine Output Capacity of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2009 vs. 2010E
Hami Copper-Nickel Mine Output Capacity of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2009 vs. 2010E
Nickel Capacity Expansion Planning of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2010-2012
Nickel Smelting Capacity Planning of Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry, 2010
Operating Income and Net Income of Sino-Platinum Metals, 2006-2009
Nickel Ore Projects Put in Production of Sino-Platinum Metals, 2008-2009
Nickel Business Revenue of Sino-Platinum Metals, 2006-2009
Equity Structure of Yunxi Yuanjiang Nickel Co., Ltd, End of 2009
Operating Income and Total Profit of Jiangxi Jiangli Sci-Tech, 2007-2008