Sherritt International of Toronto, Ontaio, Canada, has announced the start of the third acid plant at the Moa joint venture with General Nickel Company of Cuba. The USD $65 million project was the first capital project at Moa to be fully financed by a Cuban financial institution.
The 20,000 t/d plant is currently operating at about 900 t/d and will reach full capacity over the coming weeks as testing is completed. When in full operation, the third acid plant has the potential to reduce the Moa net direct cash cost by approximately USD $0.50/lb. of nickel produced, with the savings derived from an elimination of third party sulphuric acid purchases and reduced fuel oil purchases.