Sibanye-Stillwater has announced the termination of a crucial commercial supply contract for its Sandouville nickel refinery in France as part of a strategic shift to address ongoing financial losses and transition the refinery towards producing precursor cathode active material (pCAM).
Acquired in 2022 with the intention of producing nickel sulphate for the European battery market, the Sandouville refinery is now pivoting to pCAM production following promising outcomes from a recent scoping study and an ongoing prefeasibility study for the GalliCam project.
This project aims to repurpose the refinery’s existing chloride processing infrastructure to produce pCAM.
As part of the termination agreement, Sibanye-Stillwater will incur a $37 million cost. The refinery will continue processing and selling its current inventory into the first quarter of 2025, while negotiations to terminate other related contracts are ongoing.
Despite recent operational and cost improvements, the Sandouville refinery remains unprofitable, according to Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman.
He expressed gratitude to the company’s partners for their cooperation in the consensual cancellation of the supply agreement and shared excitement about advancing Sibanye’s battery metals strategy, which aims to develop downstream exposure to Europe’s battery metals value chain.
The GalliCam project presents an attractive brownfield opportunity, allowing the refinery to leverage its existing chloride facility and expertise to produce pCAM for the European market.
The new process, developed by Sibanye’s internal team in Europe, enables the production of pCAM directly from mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) in a chloride medium.
This method is expected to reduce production steps, energy consumption, carbon emissions, and waste generation per tonne of pCAM compared to traditional sulphate-based processes, potentially leading to competitive production costs at Sandouville.
Progress on the GalliCam project includes successful laboratory-scale production of pCAM and a patent application for the novel process filed in July.
A pilot plant for pCAM precipitation is currently under construction, with testing expected to begin by the end of the third quarter.
Sibanye-Stillwater will continue consultations with local stakeholders in France as part of the permitting process for the GalliCam project.
