Russian nickel and copper miner Nornickel expects global demand for nickel to increase by 15pc in 2021 and by 11pc in 2022 annually and supply to grow by 11pc in 2021 and 16pc in 2022.
The company stated that it expects the global nickel market to be in deficit this year and anticipates a surplus in 2022 because of increased nickel pig iron (NPI) production in Indonesia to fulfill the growing demand from the battery sector.
It expects the electric vehicle market to grow as governments across the world offer incentives to purchase EVs. To support this growth, the global nickel market is anticipated to grow by 1mn mt by 2030, Nornickel stated.
The Russian miner expects the copper output to remain balanced in the near term with a 1pc deficit compared to global consumption, as the economy recovers from the pandemic. Copper demand is projected to increase by 3pc to 24.2mn mt this year.
In 2022, the company expects the global copper market to be 1pc in surplus at 319,000t as new projects in Congo, Chile, and Peru start manufacturing.
Nornickel, which released its production numbers in July, stated that its nickel sales volume in H1 2021 fell by 1pc to 98,000t (88,904mt) from 99,000t in H1 2020. Copper sales volume in the first half of the year dropped by 32pc to 148,000t compared to 217,000t in H1 2020.
Nornickel’s nickel revenue in the first half of the year rose by 34pc to $1.6bn compared to $1.2bn in H1 2020 and its copper revenue grew by 35pc in H1 2021 to $1.5bn from $1.1bn in H1 2020.