Production chain guarantees parts for the nickel industry in Holguín

As part of the production chain which contributes to the substitution of imports, the nickel industry in Holguín province is favored with spare parts manufactured by the Empresa Mecanica Fabric Aguilar Noriega of Villa Clara.

According to an information from the Granma newspaper, among the assortments produced for mining-metallurgical companies in the municipality of Moa are catalytic converters, rollers for conveyor belts, Jacobi sections, scrapers, plates, rings and pulleys, among others, most of which had to be purchased on the international market at high prices.

Based on the growth experienced in parts deliveries, mainly since 2021, Moa’s nickel plants have now become Fabric Aguilar’s main customer.

Meeting the numerous orders from the industry in Holguín has required the engineers and technicians of the Santa Clara factory to make a praiseworthy effort to adapt the molding lines and their templates, before taking the parts to the casting process.

Expanding economic cooperation is a priority between Russia and Cuba

Cuba ranks fifth and third in the world reserves of nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co), respectively, with the largest exploitation of the deposits in Moa, whuch house the Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara factory and the Moa Níckel S.A-Pedro Soto Alba joint venture, with shared administration with the Canadian company Sherritt since 1994.

As part of the geological-mining development project led by the Ministry of Energy and Mines in the National Economic and Social Development Plan of the country until 2030, by December 2023 Pedro Sotto Alba company, whose production capacity exceeds 34 thousand tons, must have a new mineral pulp plant.

In these plants, mixed sulfides of nickel and cobalt are obtained for commercialization, as well as sulfuric acid for the national industry.

Nickel is essential to obtain stainless steel and corrosion-resistant alloys; cobalt is used in the manufacture of batteries for cell phones and automobiles, as well as airplane turbines.

The demand for nickel, cobalt and lithium will grow in the coming years due to the impulse of emerging technologies of the fourth industrial revolution and the wide use in new products and modern technologies such as electric vehicles.

With information from Granma and Cubadebate