Phillipines nickel mines can't keep up with China demand

The Philippines will not be able to satisfy China’s demand for nickel ore once the latter exhausts stockpiles built up before Indonesia banned exports of the metal, Bloomberg reported, citing the chief financial officer of Nickel Asia Corp, Manny Samson. China’s The tightening supply may drive prices to US$16,000 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, Sampson said. China’s output of nickel pig iron — a lower-grade substitute for the refined metal used in making stainless steel — may fall by about 30% when the country becomes solely dependent on Philippine supply, according to Sampson.