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slump","sibanye-stillwater-shifts-focus-to-battery-precursor-in-europe-amid-nickel-price-slump","article/sibanye-stillwater-shifts-focus-to-battery-precursor-in-europe-amid-nickel-price-slump",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":559,"content":569,"excerpt":677,"featured":51,"reporter":678,"_editable":682,"component":683,"seo_title":543,"categories":684,"visibility":697,"author_company":49,"featured_image":698,"seo_description":677,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":704,"formattedArticleDate":705},"dd661dd4-2e05-4199-ac47-f93c8b841efe","2024-09-02 00:00",[550,553,556],{"slug":551,"name":552},"france","France",{"slug":554,"name":555},"pcam","pCAM",{"slug":557,"name":558},"sibanye-stillwater","Sibanye-Stillwater",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":563},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":564,"image":565,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":566},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":570,"content":571},"doc",[572,579,592,597,602,615,620,625,630,637,642,661,666],{"type":573,"attrs":574,"content":575},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":578},"Sibanye-Stillwater plans to re-purpose the Sandouville nickel refinery in northern France to produce battery precursor (pCAM), progressing the company’s strategy of increasing its downstream exposure to Europe’s battery supply chain. ","text",{"type":573,"attrs":580,"content":581},{"textAlign":49},[582,584],{"text":583,"type":578},"Acquired from Eramet in 2022, the Sandouville refinery’s hydrometallurgical flowsheet was due to be upgraded to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate from nickel matte, but has become loss-making as ",{"text":585,"type":578,"marks":586},"nickel prices have tumbled 35% since the acquisition.",[587],{"type":588,"attrs":589},"link",{"href":590,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/nickel-prices/chart/","url",{"type":573,"attrs":593,"content":594},{"textAlign":49},[595],{"text":596,"type":578},"The company confirmed it was conducting a pre-feasibility study to determine the viability of transitioning the plant’s existing chloride processing infrastructure towards producing pCAM directly from mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP); a novel process designed to cut several steps out of traditional sulphate-based processing routes. A small-scale pCAM pilot plant at the refinery is set to begin by the end of Q3. ",{"type":573,"attrs":598,"content":599},{"textAlign":49},[600],{"text":601,"type":578},"“The current low price environment for nickel has hit many western producers, who are struggling to compete with lower-cost competitors in China,” said Will Talbot, principal nickel analyst at Benchmark. “Sibanye-Stillwater’s decision to pivot Sandouville to pCAM production will enable them to sell a value-add product for the battery industry – which is now the key growth driver in the nickel market.”",{"type":573,"attrs":603,"content":604},{"textAlign":49},[605,607,613],{"text":606,"type":578},"Aside from value-adding its nickel production, switching to MHP also grants access to a lower-cost, more abundant feedstock; MHP nickel payability to the LME nickel contract averaged 74% in 2023, compared to 90% for nickel matte ",{"text":608,"type":578,"marks":609},"according to the Benchmark Nickel Forecast",[610],{"type":588,"attrs":611},{"href":612,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/portal/",{"text":614,"type":578},". MHP also includes a higher concentration of cobalt, making it a preferable feedstock for pCAM production.",{"type":573,"attrs":616,"content":617},{"textAlign":49},[618],{"text":619,"type":578},"“Switching the input of the plant from matte to MHP is not surprising given the new product, and in doing so Sibanye-Stillwater is following in the footsteps of the Chinese players for which MHP is now the key input for battery applications,” said Talbot.",{"type":573,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623],{"text":624,"type":578},"“MHP is cost-effective to convert to nickel sulphate, but Sibanye say they are using a novel chloride process to make their pCAM. While this has reportedly been proven at laboratory scale, it remains to be seen if the process can reach commercial scale,” he continued.",{"type":573,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":578},"As part of plans to address the refinery’s projected losses and prepare for potential commercial-scale pCAM production, the company revealed it had reached an agreement to cancel its existing nickel matte supply contracts by the close of 2024, incurring a cost of $37 million. ",{"type":631,"attrs":632,"content":634},"heading",{"level":633,"textAlign":49},4,[635],{"text":636,"type":578},"Sibanye-Stillwater advances battery strategy",{"type":631,"attrs":638,"content":639},{"level":633,"textAlign":49},[640],{"text":641,"type":578},"Europe lacks sufficient pCAM production capacity",{"type":573,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[645,651,653,659],{"text":646,"type":578,"marks":647},"China holds a dominant hold at this midstream stage of the battery supply chain",[648],{"type":588,"attrs":649},{"href":650,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-is-the-ex-china-apac-region-position-in-the-global-battery-supply-chain-evolving",{"text":652,"type":578},", accounting for over 90% of global pCAM output in 2023, according to the ",{"text":654,"type":578,"marks":655},"Benchmark Battery Precursor Assessment",[656],{"type":588,"attrs":657},{"href":658,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cathode/portal/",{"text":660,"type":578},". ",{"type":573,"attrs":662,"content":663},{"textAlign":49},[664],{"text":665,"type":578},"Benchmark projections posit Europe’s pCAM capacity pipeline at 66% of the continent’s cathode capacity by the end of the decade, leaving the region reliant on imports from Asia to fill the supply gap.",{"type":573,"attrs":667,"content":668},{"textAlign":49},[669,671],{"text":670,"type":578},"Moreover, slower-than-expected EV sales and overcapacity in China is creating supply risk for the west, as rising cost pressures have led European midstream players BASF and ",{"text":672,"type":578,"marks":673},"Umicore to drawback on planned investments in 2024.",[674],{"type":588,"attrs":675},{"href":676,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/umicore-delays-battery-material-expansion-plans-as-short-term-pressures-bite","Sibanye-Stillwater plans to re-purpose the Sandouville nickel refinery in northern France to produce battery precursor (pCAM), progressing the company’s strategy of increasing its downstream exposure to Europe’s battery supply chain. Acquired from Eramet in 2022, the Sandouville refinery’s hydrometallurgical flowsheet was due to be upgraded to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate from nickel matte, but has […]",[679],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":680},{"job_title":564,"image":681,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},{"filename":566},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dd661dd4-2e05-4199-ac47-f93c8b841efe\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[685,688,690,692,695],{"slug":686,"name":687},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":689,"name":298},"cathode",{"slug":691,"name":115},"cobalt",{"slug":693,"name":694},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":696,"name":150},"nickel","private",{"id":49,"alt":699,"name":700,"focus":700,"title":699,"source":700,"filename":701,"copyright":700,"fieldtype":702,"meta_data":703,"is_external_url":51},"Close-up image of a battery and wiring","","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/baec85913e/bm-pcam-in-charts-featured-image.jpg","asset",{"alt":699,"title":699,"source":700,"copyright":700},"Sep 02, 2024","2nd September 2024",[],[],1780670061722]