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.