The recent drop in nickel should not have a big impact on Sudburys mining supply and services sector, states Dick DeStefano, executive director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association.
Fluctuations in nickel prices don’t seem to alarm many of our guys, he said. They just accept it as part of the process of working in the Sudbury area with nickel mines. Last week the price of nickel was USD $7.71 a pound after a drop from nearly $9 a pound in early September. Even if production at a mine slows, companies like Vale and Glencore still need to maintain their equipment and pay for many of the services on which they rely on a regular basis. A much bigger problem is the lack of exploration going on. Also the uncertainty around the Ring of Fire has been a problem because no one ever seems to know what is going to happen with the deposit.
In July, Scotiabank commodity market specialist Patricia Mohr stated she expected nickel to reach an average price of US$10.75 per pound by 2015.The prediction was due to a ban on all exports of nickel-containing ores Indonesia enacted on Jan. 12, 2014.