Sherritt Commissions a New Sulphuric Acid Plant in Cuba
Cuba:
Sherritt International
Corporation, a company engaged in mining and refining of nickel from lateritic
ores with operations in Canada, Cuba and Madagascar, announced the
commissioning of its third sulphuric acid plant at the Moa joint venture with
General Nickel Company of Cuba. The USD65 million project has a production
capacity of 2,000 tons per day, however, the plant is operational at about 900
tonnes per day with full performance testing planned over the next few weeks.
The on-time completed project is Moa Nickel's first capital project which is
completely financed by a Cuban financial institution.
TechSci
Research depicts that the Sherritt’s sulphuric acid expansion project is expected to
deliver cost savings and reduce fuel consumption of the company. After the
plant is fully operational, it is anticipated to ease the Moa JV Net Direct
Cash Cost ("NDCC") by approximately USD0.50/lb. Moreover, the
start-up of the new plant in Cuba is expected to reduce sulphuric acid imports
from various European suppliers and consumption of imported acid only during
maintenance shutdowns.
According
to the recent report published by TechSci
Research “Global
sulphuric Acid Market, By Manufacturing Process (Lead Chamber
and Contact Process), By Raw Material (Sulphur, Exhaust Gases, Pyrite), By
End-Use Industry (Fertilizers, Chemical etc.), By Region, Competition Market
Forecast & Opportunities, 2011-2025”, the global sulphuric acid consumption was more than 230
million tons in 2015, which is growing at a healthy pace. Asia-Pacific accounts
for the largest share in the global sulphuric acid market with South Korea and
Japan being the largest sulphuric acid exporters owing to the prevalence of
base metal smelters in the region. In 2015, South Korea exported around 3
million tons of sulphuric acid, accounting for 16.8% of the global total, while
Japan exported around 2.7 million tons, governing a share of 15.2% in the total
global export.