NPI has and is changing global austenitic SST. NPI is responsible for China’s meteoric rise to producing over 50 percent of SST annually. Genesis of NPI in China began in 1997, it is very interesting, please visit.
I learned about NPI the hard way in 2006. I was living and working in Beijing and our company was offering blended Ni alloy scrap to a large Chinese stainless mill as an alternative to refined Ni. We offered a thin margin LME discounted price and were promptly told our price was too high. We asked what price would do the business and their response was a shock. We were told we would have to compete with nickel pig iron. After we departed we asked ourselves “what the hell is nickel pig iron” and the rest is history. Here we are 11 years later and NPI is the elephant in global stainless steel. Before China developed laterite nickel ore into NPI it was soil aka dirt!
