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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":705,"relatedVideos":706},112471975435171,"11bb901f-d30c-4f24-88fd-5bf16443da61","What’s in store for cobalt and nickel in 2023?","whats-in-store-for-cobalt-and-nickel-in-2023","article/whats-in-store-for-cobalt-and-nickel-in-2023",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":550,"content":560,"excerpt":680,"featured":51,"reporter":681,"_editable":685,"component":686,"seo_title":543,"categories":687,"visibility":695,"author_company":696,"featured_image":697,"seo_description":680,"author_full_name":701,"author_job_title":702,"formattedDate":703,"formattedArticleDate":704},"1e2401df-eb8c-4913-b3b5-9168e95c0cc4","2023-01-16 00:00",[],[551],{"slug":552,"name":553,"content":554},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":555,"image":556,"bio":558,"linkedin":559},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":557},"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":561,"content":562},"doc",[563,580,585,590,595,600,605,610,615,624,631,636,643,650,655,660,665,670,675],{"type":564,"attrs":565,"content":566},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[567,570,578],{"text":568,"type":569},"A cloud of pessimism hangs over the cobalt market entering the new year, following a ","text",{"text":571,"type":569,"marks":572},"challenging end ",[573],{"type":574,"attrs":575},"link",{"href":576,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":577},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-down-despite-bullish-start-to-the-year-2022-in-review","url",{"text":579,"type":569},"to 2022. ",{"type":564,"attrs":581,"content":582},{"textAlign":49},[583],{"text":584,"type":569},"The second half of last year marked a dramatic reversal in the fortunes for a battery metal that had previously appeared to be moving from strength to strength. A lockdown-induced downturn in battery demand in China in conjunction with supply-side additions outpacing previous projections, culminated in the market flipping into surplus and prices collapsing correspondingly. ",{"type":564,"attrs":586,"content":587},{"textAlign":49},[588],{"text":589,"type":569},"With this surplus forecast to be structural, sustaining late into the decade, it would be reasonable to conclude that there is little to be positive about from a cobalt perspective.",{"type":564,"attrs":591,"content":592},{"textAlign":49},[593],{"text":594,"type":569},"As ever with cobalt, however, the reality of the market is far more nuanced than any headline number would suggest. This year is set to be a landmark year in US and European Union lawmakers’ efforts to counteract Chinese hegemony over critical mineral supply chains, with legislation steadily altering the foundations of the cobalt industry, ushering in an era of alternative trade flows and investment beyond the DRC/China axis. ",{"type":564,"attrs":596,"content":597},{"textAlign":49},[598],{"text":599,"type":569},"The requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are set to be supportive for cobalt prices in 2023, as western automakers and cell makers alike scramble to secure cobalt from a limited pool of qualifying supply.",{"type":564,"attrs":601,"content":602},{"textAlign":49},[603],{"text":604,"type":569},"Moreover, an ongoing legal dispute between the DRC government and China Molybdenum over the latter’s royalty payments from Tenke Fungurume adds further uncertainty. ",{"type":564,"attrs":606,"content":607},{"textAlign":49},[608],{"text":609,"type":569},"While a ban on the mine’s exports since July has yet to have a material impact on the market, a forced stoppage to production at the world’s second largest mine remains a real prospect as negotiations appear to have reached stalemate. ",{"type":564,"attrs":611,"content":612},{"textAlign":49},[613],{"text":614,"type":569},"As uncertainty lingers, any such development could dramatically alter cobalt’s course over the coming 12 months.",{"type":564,"attrs":616,"content":617},{"textAlign":49},[618],{"type":619,"attrs":620},"image",{"id":49,"alt":621,"src":622,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":623},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/910b805a97/bm-cobalt-graphic.png",{},{"type":625,"attrs":626,"content":628},"heading",{"level":627,"textAlign":49},4,[629],{"text":630,"type":569},"What to expect for nickel? ",{"type":564,"attrs":632,"content":633},{"textAlign":49},[634],{"text":635,"type":569},"Last year will be remembered as perhaps the most dramatic and turbulent period of nickel’s history as a commodity. Volatility and uncertainty reigned in a market that had been deemed the most mature and stable of the battery metals, as prices jumped by 250% in a little over a day on the London Metal Exchange. ",{"type":564,"attrs":637,"content":638},{"textAlign":49},[639,641],{"text":640,"type":569},"Beyond the theatre of London, however, 2022 was a supply-side story, marking a critical juncture in Indonesia’s emergence at the heart of the lithium-ion supply chain. Several new projects entered operations and investment in new nickel supply surged. The Benchmark Nickel Forecast",{"text":642,"type":569},"tracked 15 new battery focused nickel plants in the region in 2022.",{"type":564,"attrs":644,"content":645},{"textAlign":49},[646],{"type":619,"attrs":647},{"id":49,"alt":621,"src":648,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":649},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f3ed0a633f/bm-nickel-graphic.png",{},{"type":564,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":569},"As we bid farewell to a defining year for the industry, the long shadow of last March’s dramatic events on the LME continues to hang over the industry and dominate headlines. ",{"type":564,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":569},"There is a ubiquitous sense that LME nickel prices have become entirely disconnected from underlying market fundamentals, a situation that will only be compounded as the volume of non-exchange tradable nickel continues to grow. The industry is pushing for alternative price benchmarks to be utilised – although there remains little agreement on the best way to proceed. ",{"type":564,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":569},"Chinese buyers have reportedly pressed for China-based reference prices, while those in the west remain extremely reluctant to utilise such benchmarks in their contracts. What is clear however is that evolution of pricing dynamics will be a critical and developing story over the coming 12 months.",{"type":564,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":569},"A second key trend that we anticipate in 2023 is a surge in ex-China investment within Indonesia’s mining sector, as western players seek to leverage the region’s vast nickel resources. ",{"type":564,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"text":674,"type":569},"Volkswagen became the first western automaker to commit to a project in the region in early 2022, though it was believed at the time that nickel from this project would be destined for the Chinese market. ",{"type":564,"attrs":676,"content":677},{"textAlign":49},[678],{"text":679,"type":569},"There is now growing confidence that Indonesian nickel will qualify for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act, if it is processed in the US or Free Trade Agreement (FTA) economy, which if proven correct will most likely spark a stream of ex-China investments in the region.","A cloud of pessimism hangs over the cobalt market entering the new year, following a challenging end to 2022. The second half of last year marked a dramatic reversal in the fortunes for a battery metal that had previously appeared to be moving from strength to strength. A lockdown-induced downturn in battery demand in China […]",[682],{"slug":552,"name":553,"content":683},{"job_title":555,"image":684,"bio":558,"linkedin":559},{"filename":557},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1e2401df-eb8c-4913-b3b5-9168e95c0cc4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[688,690,693],{"slug":689,"name":115},"cobalt",{"slug":691,"name":692},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":694,"name":150},"nickel","private","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",{"id":49,"alt":621,"name":621,"focus":621,"title":621,"source":621,"filename":698,"copyright":621,"fieldtype":699,"meta_data":700,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6c9d862bd7/bm-nickel-smelter-indonesia.jpg","asset",{"alt":621,"title":621,"source":621,"copyright":621},"Gregory Miller ","Senior Analyst","Jan 16, 2023","16th January 2023",[],[],1781512948711]