In China, the use of nickel pig-iron as a substitute for pure nickel in the production of stainless steel may be limited not only by the lower price of nickel, but by the rising cost of producing NPI domestically. The average cost to produce NPI ranges from $17,000-18,000 per tonne. As nickel prices are currently around the cost of NPI production it makes little sense to continue using the inferior product.

“Baosteel Group Corp., China’s biggest publicly traded steelmaker, said it may start buying more refined nickel this month because pig iron has become too expensive,” reported Michelle Yun, for Bloomberg.

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