Côte d'Ivoire has an estimated lateritic nickel potential of 260 million tons located in Sipilou (West) and Foungbesso (Northwest).
Nickel mining began in 2017 with a production of 379,800 tons and has seen a steady increase, reaching 2,840,548.2 tons in 2023, representing an average annual increase of 36.7% over the period.
Nickel Production and Export
|
Indicators |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Nickel Production (tons) |
379,800 |
889,585 |
660,144 |
1,347,975 |
1,764,150 |
1,840,795.6 |
2,840,548.22 |
|
Nickel Production (millions of FCFA) |
8,735.3 |
25,242.9 |
24,006.7 |
36,163.2 |
72,357.3 |
92,287.857 |
|
|
Nickel Exports (tons) |
978,439.2 |
434,686.6 |
1,515,952 |
ND |
2,015,506.919 |
||
|
Nickel Exports (millions of FCFA) |
25,242.9 |
24,006.7 |
28,388.6 |
ND |
ND |
Source : Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, General Directorate of Mines and Geology (DGMG)
Evolution of Nickel Production
Source : Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, General Directorate of Mines and Geology (DGMG)
In perspective, the production of lateritic nickel is expected to continue to progress in the coming years with the upcoming start of production at the nickel-cobalt mine in Sipilou, operated by NOCI of the IC Nickel group, and the strong demand from electric vehicle manufacturers. Thus, production is expected to reach 2,728,603 tons in 2024 and 2,976,657 tons in 2025.