According to the latest data released by the Brazilian Institute of Non-ferrous Metals (ICZ), the country's nickel production, which was 3,702 mt in August last year, amounted to 5,109 mt in August this year, down 7.1 percent compared to July. In the first eight months of this year, Brazilian nickel output totaled 44,134 mt, up 56.4 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the January-August period of this year, Brazil exported 68.7 percent of its total nickel output, while the country's nickel exports almost doubled compared to the first eight months of 2011, totaling 30,325 mt.
Meanwhile, in the first eight months of the current year nickel sales to the Brazilian domestic market including imports amounted to 12,759 mt, decreasing by 6.8 percent compared to January-August 2011.