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· Consolidated Nickel Mines Limited (CNM) in Zambia recorded its highest ever nickel production of 400 tons of premium grade export quality nickel concentrate in April 2021 since its operations started in Munali Nickel Mine in 2019
· The nickel prices hovered around US$17,000 per tonne over the last two months. Nickel prices are ruling high by increased electric battery demand. This has helped the company to register a positive cash-flow position
· The May production was 410 tonnes, the highest nickel production on record at the mine as of now
Consolidated Nickel Mines Limited (CNM) in Zambia recorded its highest ever nickel production of 400 tons of premium grade export quality nickel concentrate in April 2021 since its operations started in Munali Nickel Mine in 2019. This has boosted the Company’s revenues driven by favorable international nickel prices. The nickel prices hovered around US$17,000 per tonne over the last two months. Nickel prices are ruling high by increased electric battery demand. This has helped the company to register a positive cash-flow position.
Despite having commenced on a challenging note in 2019, the company has been producing only about 75 tonnes of nickel per month and thereby making a monthly loss running into millions of dollars. The present revenue flows gives a ray of hope for the company and soon it would turn out to be a profitable venture.
In April this year, the production was 408 tons as against 360 tons in December last year. The May production was 410 tonnes, the highest nickel production on record at the mine as of now. The target for production was 350 tons per month. But in April the production topped 400 tonnes.
The company officials said that the previous management of Munali Nickel Mine left a huge amount of outstanding bills (arrears), owed to suppliers of goods and services. The present management has paid about US$4 million of debt owed to suppliers. The company is working towards retiring all debts incurred by the previous management. The company had about US$18 million owed to suppliers of goods and services.
The profits were channelized for retiring such debts. The company is targeting to produce 400 tonnes of nickel per month henceforth to make the operations profitable. This will provide stable jobs to many, whilst producing an environmentally friendly metal from carbon neutral operations. Nickel is an essential strategic metal in the world’s current move away from fossil fuels. Over the next few years, demand for electric vehicles is expected to grow substantially, accelerating the demand for nickel.
