Nickel Ore (Laterite Saprolite & Limonite)
Laterite saprolite and limonite by Ni, Fe, MgO and moisture — IMSBC Group A
Nickel laterite is two ores in one pit. Saprolite, the deeper silicate layer, carries 1.5–2.0% Ni (occasionally 2.2%+) with 10–25% MgO and low iron, and is the feed for rotary-kiln electric-furnace ferronickel and for nickel pig iron; limonite, the iron-rich cap above it, carries 0.9–1.3% Ni with 40–50% Fe and, increasingly, 0.08–0.15% cobalt, and goes to high-pressure acid leach plants for mixed hydroxide precipitate and battery-grade nickel. Price is set per wet metric tonne against a guaranteed Ni percentage, with a pro rata adjustment above and below, and the buyer then looks at Fe (which decides whether the ore fits an NPI furnace at 1.5% Ni or an HPAL autoclave at 1.0%), the SiO₂:MgO ratio (slag basicity in the electric furnace), and moisture, which sits at 30–38% as mined and is the reason every tonne is a wet tonne. On the trade, Indonesia banned raw nickel ore exports in 2020 and now smelts everything at home, which is why UN Comtrade 2025 export declarations under HS 2604 show it at 1 MT; the Philippines is the main seaborne exporter into China but is not a reporter in our 2025 scan, so its figure is not quoted here. Among the reporters that are, Cote d'Ivoire declared 1.14 million MT at an average USD 51/MT — low-grade laterite to Chinese NPI furnaces — and Australia 122,000 MT at USD 1,592/MT, a figure that reflects higher-grade material rather than run-of-mine laterite.
Laterite is an IMSBC Code Group A cargo: it can liquefy on passage if its moisture content is above the transportable moisture limit, and the ship's master must hold a shipper's declaration with the TML and actual moisture certificate, tested within the Code's time limits, before loading. That is not paperwork; it has sunk ships. It means the moisture number governs the fixture as much as the price, that loading is weather-dependent at open anchorages, and that the shipper's laboratory and the surveyor's TML method (flow table, penetration or Proctor-Fagerberg) are written into the contract. Buyers are Chinese rotary-kiln and NPI smelters in Shandong, Jiangsu and Guangdong and, for limonite, HPAL projects; Indian ferronickel furnaces take smaller lots. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers saprolite and limonite from Philippine, Ivorian, Guatemalan and New Caledonian mine and trader allocations against SGS or Intertek certification of Ni, Fe, Co, MgO, SiO₂ and moisture on a dry and wet basis, with the TML and moisture certificate as a condition of shipment. Parcels are structured in Supramax lots on FOB and CFR terms from anchorage loadings by barge, and because CBIL also runs a chartering desk (LaycanDesk), the freight leg, with the Group A survey and weather-working terms it needs, is quoted alongside the cargo. Send your Ni floor, the Fe band your furnace or autoclave takes and the moisture ceiling you can carry, and we will work the origin to it.
Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices bulk ore freight on LaycanDesk.
Indicative reference
$30–80 (wet MT, 1.5–1.8% Ni) USD / MT
as at September 2026
Reference level only — not an offer, and reviewed quarterly. Levels shown are as at September 2026. Firm pricing is quoted per RFQ, subject to volume, terms and inspection.
Typical Specification
Specifications are indicative and adjusted to the agreed contract and destination requirements. Final spec confirmed on COA / SGS.
Available Grades
Applications
- Nickel pig iron (NPI) for stainless steel
- Ferronickel (RKEF) smelting
- HPAL — mixed hydroxide precipitate for batteries
- Nickel matte
Category
Metals & Recycled Scrap
Incoterms
FOB · CFR
Pricing basis
USD / MT
Inspection
SGS / Intertek at load port
Nickel Ore (Laterite Saprolite & Limonite) — buyer questions
Why is nickel ore an IMSBC Group A cargo and what does that mean for my shipment?
Laterite is a fine, wet mineral cargo that can liquefy at sea if its moisture is above the transportable moisture limit: the cargo turns to a slurry, shifts to one side and the ship capsizes. The IMSBC Code therefore requires the shipper to give the master a declaration stating the TML and the actual moisture content, from tests within six months and seven days respectively of loading, and the master may refuse the cargo without it. In practice the moisture certificate is a condition of the sale, loading stops in rain at open anchorages, and the TML test method is named in the contract.
What is the difference between saprolite and limonite, and which do I need?
Saprolite is the silicate ore, higher in nickel (1.5–2.0%) and magnesia and low in iron; it melts in a rotary-kiln electric furnace into ferronickel or in a blast or electric furnace into nickel pig iron, both of which go into stainless steel. Limonite is the iron-rich cap, lower in nickel (0.9–1.3%) but carrying cobalt, and it is leached under pressure with sulphuric acid into a mixed hydroxide that becomes battery nickel. A stainless-chain smelter buys saprolite on Ni; an HPAL plant buys limonite on Ni plus Co and a low MgO, because magnesia consumes acid.
How is the price adjusted for grade and moisture?
The offer is per wet metric tonne at a guaranteed Ni percentage and a stated moisture, with a pro rata adjustment for each 0.1% Ni above or below the guarantee, a rejection level typically 0.2% under it, and a deduction for moisture above the contract figure — so a 1.8% Ni cargo at 35% moisture and the same cargo at 32% are different prices. Sampling and assay are by SGS or Intertek at the load port on the dry basis, with moisture determined on the same sample.
Where does seaborne nickel ore come from now that Indonesia does not export it?
Indonesia's 2020 ban on raw ore exports moved its ore into domestic smelters, and UN Comtrade's 2025 export declarations show it at 1 MT under HS 2604. The Philippines, loading from Surigao, Palawan and Zambales between April and October, is the main seaborne source into China, though it is not a reporter in our 2025 scan; Cote d'Ivoire declared 1.14 million MT at USD 51/MT, and New Caledonia and Guatemala supply smaller volumes. Because CBIL also runs a chartering desk, the Supramax freight leg from these anchorages is quoted alongside the cargo.
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