Sherritt International's (TSX: S) stock was up Friday, after announcing the company had reached three billion pounds of finished nickel production since operations began at its refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.
The Fort Saskatchewan refinery was constructed in 1954 and initially processed feed from Sherritt's Lynn Lake mine in Manitoba. Today, the Fort Saskatchewan refinery processes mixed sulphides produced through the Moa Joint Venture, which was created in 1994 and in which Sherritt maintains a 50% partnership interest, to produce Class 1 nickel in briquette and powder forms. In 2018, the Moa JV's cash costs ranked it within the lowest cost quartile relative to other producers and also ranked it as the lowest cost nickel HPAL operation in the world, according to annualized information tracked by Wood Mackenzie
In 2018, the Fort Saskatchewan refinery produced 30,708 tonnes of finished nickel (100% basis) and produced 3,234 tonnes of finished cobalt (100% basis) as a by-product.
In 2018, the Moa JV's cash costs ranked it within the lowest cost quartile relative to other producers and also ranked it as the lowest cost nickel HPAL operation in the world, according to annualized information tracked by Wood Mackenzie.
In 2019, the Moa JV is expected to produce between 31,000 and 33,000 tonnes of finished nickel (100% basis) and between 3,300 and 3,600 tonnes of finished cobalt (100% basis).