Vale Indonesia, an Indonesian nickel subsidiary of global mining firm Vale, produced 16,922 metric tonnes of nickel in matte in the second quarter, Kallanish notes. This brought its half-year nickel production to 33,691t.

The group says that Q2 and H1 production was about 35% and 28% higher respectively compared to that realised in Q2 2022 (12,567t) and H1 2022 (26,394t), as the firm executed the Furnace 4 rebuild last year. The group's nickel production in Q1 2023 was 16,769t. 

As part of the maintenance strategy, the company initiated a shutdown in the Reduction Kiln 1 and Furnace 1 in June 2023, with the intention of completing it in July 2023.

Overall, thanks to the successful roof repair in Q1, which greatly improved the productivity of Furnace 2, and smooth operations, the firm surpassed its production volume target for this quarter.