Sherritt International Corporation, a leader in the mining and refining of nickel and cobalt from lateritic ores, has announced its Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, refinery has reached three billion pounds of finished nickel production since operations first began in 1954.
Being one of Canadas oldest mining companies, the milestone serves as a testament to the refinerys dependability throughout the past 65 years, Sherritts CEO and President David Pathe, explained. He expressed that it showed the companys employees abilities to adapt to changes in the industry and introduce innovations that have enabled the company to maintain such a high position as a producer of low-cost and high-quality nickel.
Today, the refinery processes mixed sulphides produced through the Moa Joint Venture (Moa JV), which was created in 1994, to produce Class 1 nickel in briquette and powder forms. Class 1 nickel is the purest form of nickel and is suited for applications that require high purity levels.
In 2018, the Fort Saskatchewan refinery produced 30,708 tonnes of finished nickel, and 3,234 tonnes of finished cobalt as a by-product. Finished nickel and cobalt produced at the Fort Saskatchewan refinery are sold to international customers, primarily in Europe, Japan and China, for use in stainless steel applications, specialty alloys and assorted battery types.
This year, the Moa JV is expected to produce between 31,000 and 33,000 tonnes of finished nickel and between 3,300 and 3,600 tonnes of finished cobalt.
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