Launch of nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) price assessment

The launch of this price assessment follows a consultation period that ended on Monday October 17.

The new mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) price assessment will be expressed in two different ways – first, as a payable directly linked to the midpoint of the LME cash official monthly average; second, as an outright price to provide market participants with different methods of expressing the same product, should there be any further disruption to exchange prices or if markets decouple.

The price specifications are as follows:

MB-NIO-0003 Nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate expressed price, cif China, Japan and South Korea, $ per tonne
Quality: 30-40% nickel min/max, 1-6% cobalt min/max, 4% Zn max, 4% Cu max, 9% Mn max, 5% Mg max, 5% S max, 0.5% Fe max, moisture content 35-40%
Quantity: min 100 tonnes
Location: cif major ports China, Japan and South Korea (other ports normalized)
Timing: 45 days
Unit: USD per tonne, inferred basis the payable range or expressed by participants
Publication: Weekly, Friday 3-4pm London time.

MB-NIO-0004 Nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate payable indicator, % London Metal Exchange, cif China, Japan and South Korea
Quality: 30-40% nickel min-max, 1-6% cobalt min-max, 4% Zn max, 4% Cu max, 9% Mn max, 5% Mg max, 5% S max, 0.5% Fe max, moisture content 35-40%
Quantity: min 100 tonnes
Location: cif major ports China, Japan and South Korea (other ports normalized)
Timing: 45 days
Unit: % payable basis LME monthly average
Publication: Weekly, Friday 3-4pm London time

MHP is a nickel intermediate product which is used as a primary feedstock in the production of nickel sulfate, crucial to the lithium-ion battery supply chain, particularly those batteries that use nickel-rich cathodes such as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC).

Nickel sulfate production and demand have been forecast to grow exponentially.

This new nickel MHP price assessment will provide insight and transparency to the feedstocks of this market.

The price assessment is complementary to Fastmarkets’ existing coverage of new energy raw materials, such as nickel sulfate, lithium and cobalt.

To provide feedback on this price, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to the nickel MHP price, please contact Callum Perry by email at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Callum Perry re Nickel MHP price assessments.”

To see all of Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to: https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.