Business
Nickel 28 Capital Releases Ramu Q4 and Full Year 2022 Operating Performance
TORONTO / Feb 27, 2023 / Business Wire / Nickel 28 Capital Corp. (“Nickel 28” or the “Company”) (TSXV: NKL) (FSE: 3JC0) is pleased to provide an update on the s
About this update from Nickel 28 Capital Corp
[{"type":"text","content":"TORONTO / Feb 27, 2023 / Business Wire / Nickel 28 Capital Corp. (“Nickel 28” or the “Company”) (TSXV: NKL) (FSE: 3JC0) is pleased to provide an update on the strong operational results for the quarter ending December 31, 2022 and for the full year of 2022 for the Company’s largest asset, being its interest in the Ramu Nickel-Cobalt (“Ramu”) integrated operation in Papua New Guinea. Nickel 28 currently holds an 8.56% joint-venture interest in Ramu which is operated by Metallurgical Corporation of China. Full Year and Q4 2022 Ramu Highlights: Ramu Q4 2022 nickel production of 8,480 tonnes, representing a 33% increase from the same period last year and full year production of 34,302 tonnes of contained nickel in Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (“MHP”), which was a 9% increase from 2021 and represented 105% of nameplate capacity. Ramu Q4 2022 cobalt production of 702 tonnes, representing a 21% increase from the same period last year and full year production of 2,987 tonnes of contained cobalt in MHP, essentially flat from 2021. Ramu Q4 2022 nickel sales of 13,613 tonnes and full year sales of 37,250 tonnes of contained nickel. Ramu Q4 2022 cobalt sales of 1,150 tonnes and full year sales of 3,289 tonnes of contained cobalt. LME average nickel price of US$11.47/lb. in Q4 2022, representing a 28% increase from the same period last year. The full year LME nickel price averaged US$11.61/lb., an improvement of 38% over the 2021 average of US$8.39/lb. Fast Markets average cobalt price of US$23.00/lb. in Q4 2022, representing a 23% decrease from the same period last year. Full year cobalt prices averaged US$30.08/lb. compared to US$24.34/lb. for 2021 representing an increase of 26%. Full year 2022 cash costs were US$3.37/lb. of nickel produced, net of byproduct credits, in MHP which consistently ranks as one of the lowest cash costs for an integrated High Pressure Acid Leach operation. “2022 was a rebound year as the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic and markets began to return to normal consumption patterns,” stated Nickel 28’s Chairman, Anthony Milewski. “In comparison to the year prior, Ramu’s operational performance improved significantly as reflected by both production numbers being up substantially and sales also rebounding. Cash costs were up in 2022 reflecting the impact of higher input costs; however, in Q4 of 2022 we started ...