Indonesia issued a ministerial regulation effective Friday revising the mineral benchmark price (HPM) formula to cut the minimum payable for low‑grade nickel ore. Under the new HPM, the cost of 1.2% nickel ore is roughly halved, easing margins for local processors and HPAL plants that refine low‑grade ore into EV‑battery chemicals. HPAL operators had been squeezed after sulphur reagent prices surged following the U.S.‑Iran conflict, forcing some to consider coordinated cutbacks. Large new HPAL c

Indonesia issued a ministerial regulation effective Friday revising the mineral benchmark price (HPM) formula to cut the minimum payable for low‑grade nickel ore. Under the new HPM, the cost of 1.2% nickel ore is roughly halved, easing margins for local processors and HPAL plants that refine low‑grade ore into EV‑battery chemicals. HPAL operators had been squeezed after sulphur reagent prices surged following the U.S.‑Iran conflict, forcing some to consider coordinated cutbacks. Large new HPAL capacity due this year and next could add downward pressure to nickel prices, which hit a year‑to‑date low on Wednesday; HPAL output—mixed hydroxide precipitate—can be converted into LME‑storable refined nickel.