Dear SMM users:
As an important nickel product that can be flexibly switched with nickel sulphate, electrodeposited nickel's production costs and profit changes are of significant reference value for profit distribution along the industry chain and for the support of market price floors. With the widespread use of intermediate raw materials such as MHP (mixed hydroxide precipitate) and high-grade nickel matte in electrodeposited nickel production, timely tracking of cost and profit changes under different raw material routes has become a core need for industry participants. Affected by faster fluctuations in prices of raw and auxiliary materials such as nickel ore, sulphur, and electricity, the original monthly frequency data has shown some lag in tracking phased changes in costs and profits.
To further enhance market transparency and help industry participants track changes in electrodeposited nickel costs and profits in a timely manner, SMM officially launched weekly electrodeposited nickel cost data points on 11 September 2026, building on the existing monthly data. The new data points cover two raw material routes, MHP and high-grade nickel matte, and two cost bases, full cost and cash cost.
I. Data point names
(I) Full cost of electrodeposited nickel production via MHP (weekly)
- SMM: Full cost of electrodeposited nickel production via MHP: Cost: Weekly
- SMM: Full cost of electrodeposited nickel production via MHP: Profit: Weekly
- SMM: Full cost of electrodeposited nickel production via MHP: Profit margin: Weekly
(II) Full cost of electrodeposited nickel production via high-grade nickel matte (weekly)
- SMM: Full cost of electrodeposited nickel production via high-grade nickel matte: Cost: Weekly
- SMM: Full cost of electrodeposited nickel production via high-grade nickel matte: Profit: Weekly
- SMM: Full cost of electrodeposited nickel production via high-grade nickel matte: Profit margin: Weekly
(III) Cash cost of electrodeposited nickel production via MHP (weekly)
- SMM: Cash cost of electrodeposited nickel production via MHP: Cost: Weekly
- SMM: Cash cost of electrodeposited nickel production via MHP: Profit: Weekly
- SMM: Cash cost of electrodeposited nickel production via MHP: Profit margin: Weekly
(IV) Cash cost of electrodeposited nickel production via high-grade nickel matte (weekly)
- SMM: Cash cost of electrodeposited nickel production via high-grade nickel matte: Cost: Weekly
- SMM: Cash cost of electrodeposited nickel production via high-grade nickel matte: Profit: Weekly
- SMM: Cash cost of electrodeposited nickel production via high-grade nickel matte: Profit margin: Weekly
II. Release frequency and timeUpdate frequency: Weekly
Release time: Updated every Friday before 18:00, with the first release on September 11, 2026
The previous monthly data has been discontinued
III. Data Description
- Full cost basis: Covers all production costs including raw materials, auxiliary materials, energy, labour, depreciation, and financial expenses
- Cash cost basis: Covers only direct cash expenditures, excluding non-cash costs such as depreciation and amortisation
- MHP route: Uses MHP (mixed hydroxide precipitate) as raw material, producing electrodeposited nickel through acid leaching, solvent extraction, and electrodeposition
- High-grade nickel matte route: Uses high-grade nickel matte as raw material, producing electrodeposited nickel through grinding, acid leaching, solvent extraction, and electrodeposition
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.
SMM Nickel Research Team
September 11, 2026