Sherritt Sees Quick Resolution to Issues at Ambatovy

Mining Weekly reported that Sherritt International (TSX:S) doesn’t plan to change its full-year guidance for its share of nickel output from the Madagascar-based Ambatovy nickel-cobalt operation. Some had expected the company to do so given that new regulations have prevented it from shipping nickel from the mine.
As quoted in the market news:

Shipments to and from Ambatovy had been stranded in an east-coast port since early this month, after government imposed a new shipment levy.
In a statement issued on Tuesday last week, Ambatovy said it was in danger of losing customers as a result of the shipping delays, and that it might be forced to shutter operations in less than a week as a result of not receiving consumables and spare parts.
Since February 9, Ambatovy cargo was subject to a new $100 Advanced Cargo Declaration (ACD) levy placed on every container shipped through the country’s ports. However, Sherritt, the operator and 40% stakeholder in the $8-billion Ambatovy mine, believed that under an agreement signed with government in December, the operation was exempt from the levy.
Sherritt on Tuesday said it was engaged in discussions with government officials and representatives, and the expectation remained that the matter would be resolved quickly.

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