In Indonesia, mines produced nearly 8.1 million wet tonnes of marketable nickel ore in the first half of 2022, up 33% year-on-year. External ore sales in the quarter exceeded 7.5 million wet tons, up 79% year-on-year. The nickel-iron alloy plant, also supplied by the mine, produced 19,600 tonnes in the first half. Eramet sold 8,500 tonnes as part of the offtake contract. During the period, Weda Bay's contributions to the FCF Group totalled €121 million, of which €107 million was related to the payment of dividends and repayment of shareholder loans.

In New Caledonia, SLN mining production was 2.4 million wet tonnes, up 6% year-on-year, despite severe weather and operational difficulties. Ferronickel production rose 10% to 20,400 tonnes, while ferronickel sales rose 6% to 20,000 tonnes. Exports of low-grade nickel ore rose 31% to 1.5 million wet tonnes. However, the Doniambo plant has been severely disrupted by ongoing power supply difficulties.

Cash costs averaged $8.06/lb in the first half of 2022, with input cost increases primarily in energy, coal (prices more than tripled) and freight (nickel ore up about 43%), while currency effects and favorable ore Prices offset some of the impact. As of June 30, SLN had debt of 427 million euros and had breakeven free cash flow in the first half of the year.

In the third quarter of 2022, demand for nickel in the stainless steel industry should continue to slow due to rising raw material prices and global macroeconomic uncertainty.

Global primary nickel production is expected to continue to grow in the second half of 2022, but is still mainly supported by developments in Indonesian production (NPI, matte and HPAL25).

At Weda Bay in Indonesia, ferronickel production was confirmed at nearly 40,000 tonnes in 2022, with saleable mine production targets remaining at around 15 million wet tonnes.

In New Caledonia, problems with grid supply cannot be resolved until a temporary offshore power plant is planned to be built in early September, so the target has been revised to produce more than 40,000 tonnes of ferronickel at the Doniambo plant in 2022. Mine exports exceeded 3.5 million wet tons.

The specific production and sales are shown in the table below: