NPI China Abbreviation

Nature Publishing Index

Nickel Pig Iron

This is a low purity ferro-nickel which is produced and used exclusively in China as an alternative to primary nickel or conventional ferro-nickel in the stainless steel industry. Much of it goes into the production of the low-nickel, high-manganese content 200 series stainless. Small blast furnaces, and increasingly, electric arc furnaces (EAFs), smelt low-grade lateritic (oxide) nickel ores imported from Southeast Asia, to make a product with a nickel content ranging from as low as 1.5% to up to 25% or more.