Nornickel has not been offering spot nickel in the United States since February, which intensifies the supply shortage and rapidly rising premiums in the country since miners at Vale Canada went on strike on June 1, multiple sources told Fastmarkets.
Nornickel has declined to comment but said that an update was imminent for its Taimyrsky mine - whose recent disruption, sources said, led to the halt in US spot supply.More than a half-dozen US market participants said Nornickel has been out of the spot market for months. The Russian mining giant had barely offered nickel briquette beyond its contractual obligations in 2021 when it stopped spot offers of cut cathode after two of its Siberian mines...