Dual-listed Sibanye-Stillwater has reached an agreement to terminate a key commercial supply contract for the Sandouville nickel refinery in France.
The South African miner acquired the Sandouville refinery from Eramet SA in 2022 to produce nickel sulphate, targeting the European battery supply chain.
It has since considered repurposing the plant’s existing chloride processing infrastructure to produce pCAM, known as the GalliCam project.
“Despite the significant operational and cost improvements achieved recently, the Sandouville refinery remains loss-making, and, as such, we thank our partners for their understanding and consideration in allowing for the consensual cancellation of the supply agreement,” said Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive Neal Froneman.
As part of the permitting process for the GalliCam project, voluntary consultation managed by Sibanye-Stillwater with local stakeholders in France will be undertaken in September and October this year.
The construction of a pilot plant representing a small-scale pCAM precipitation process is underway at the Sandouville refinery site and is planned to begin testing at the end of the third quarter of 2024.
The GalliCam project offers the Sandouville refinery a brownfield alternative to leverage the existing chloride facility and skills base for producing pCAM for the European market using a different feed source, MHP, to the nickel matte currently being refined at the Sandouville refinery.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
