BRAZIL'S CVRD EYES 100,000 TPY OF NICKEL PRODUCTION BY 2010

摘要

CVRD's party at the start of July to celebrate Moody's upgrading of its credit status coincided virtually to the day with the Brazilian company's confirmation that it will move into nickel mining at the Vermelho site in Carajas, and, moreover, plans to become one of the world's top five nickel miners within the next few years. The go-ahead for the Vermelho project - set to produce 46,000 tpy of nickel metal from late 2008, primarily for export - will be accompanied by the continuation of studies at four other nickel sites in Brazil where CVRD already holds prospecting rights. "This will put us in a fairly viable position for becoming one of the world's five biggest nickel miners," said CVRD president Roger Agnelli. If all goes according to plan, according to CVRD board sources, this could mean total nickel-contained output for CVRD of some 100,000 tpy by 2010 or shortly afterwards.