Sherritt’s Moa nickel mine hit by nationwide power outage in Cuba

Nickel and cobalt production at Canadian producer Sherritt International’s Moa Nickel mine in Cuba has been hit by power outages, the company said in a statement Oct. 21.

Operational capacity at the mine was reduced to 50-60% following countrywide power outages that began on Oct. 18. The mine site’s own power generating facilities are providing power to operations as well as regional power stations following the outage, Sherritt said.

The Moa project is a joint venture between Sherritt and General Nickel Company S.A. of Cuba and produces class I nickel and high-grade cobalt products.

Sherritt does not expect the disruptions to change its 2024 guidance, which forecasts production of 30,000-32,000 mt of finished nickel products and 3,100-3,400 mt of finished cobalt products for full-year 2024.

The project produced 13,960 mt of finished nickel products and 1,368 mt of finished cobalt products in January-June, Sherritt said.

Market sources told Platts that the power outages may have some smaller impacts on Sherritt’s Cuban mining operations but were not expected to affect the company’s refinery output in Canada.

“I doubt the issues will have much impact on cobalt [prices]," said a Europe-based trader.

Oversupply remains a key driver of price in the global cobalt metal market, with a continued depressed outlook for the product amid Chinese overproduction.

Platts, a part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed cobalt mixed-use basket A, which includes Sherritt briquettes, at $10.05/lb IW Rotterdam on Oct. 18, up five cents day on day.