Switzerland-based Solway Investment Group announced plans to restart its nickel operations in Guatemala within the coming months, citing a sharp rebound in nickel prices and the lifting of U.S. restrictions on its local facilities.
Solway stated that the CGN mine is expected to resume operations around April–May 2026, aligning with the restart of the PRONICO ferronickel plant.
The Guatemala complex includes:
PRONICO: an annual ferronickel production capacity of 25,000 tonnes;
CGN: a mine with an annual output capacity of 2.2 million tonnes of nickel ore.
Although the scale of the production increase is modest relative to global supply (estimated at around 4 million tonnes this year), industry observers see the move as a signal that current price levels could restore profitability to some idled smelters.
Nickel prices surged in early 2026. Driven by expectations that Indonesia would restrict mining permits, LME nickel climbed from its mid-December low to a peak near US $18,905 per tonne in early January.
The LME nickel price reached a 19-month high of US $19,160 per tonne, up nearly 20% since Indonesia announced plans to cut nickel mining quotas.
Written by Cora Ji, jiruyan@mysteel.com
Solway had shut down PRONICO and CGN in November 2022 after the U.S. imposed restrictions on its Guatemala subsidiaries.
The company later announced that CGN and PRONICO were removed from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) restricted list in January 2024, clearing a major obstacle to resuming operations.
NPI is currently traded at a discount of about US $2,000 per tonne compared to LME nickel. An industry source estimated that, given Solway owns its own mine in Guatemala, its NPI production costs could be around US $12,000 per tonne--suggesting improved margins at current price levels.
