Sherritt expects first fuel shipment to Moa in fourth quarter, ties mining restart to second license
Key Facts
In an update issued on October 20, Sherritt International said the first fuel shipment to the Moa project in Cuba was still being prepared and that it expected to ship it in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company said, however, that restarting mining and processing at the project remained conditional on obtaining a second emergency license from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. The update follows Sherritt’s decision to scale back the project’s operations in February because of fuel supply constraints in Cuba, before mining and processing activities stopped near the end of the second quarter. Preparing the shipment therefore does not mean production is restarting; operations can begin only after the additional U.S. approval. The project’s next milestones are now the issuance of the second license and completion of the announced fuel shipment.
Sherritt announced on February 17, 2026, that it was scaling back operations at its Moa joint venture and said it expected to suspend mining and place the processing plant on standby during the following week. The decision was in response to fuel constraints affecting Cuba, after the company was notified that planned fuel shipments for the project would not go ahead. At the time, it said the timing of renewed supplies was unknown, making continued operations dependent on fuel availability rather than a specific delivery schedule. In that statement, it said the Fort Saskatchewan refinery in Alberta continued to produce finished nickel and cobalt for sale. It estimated that the refinery’s available feedstock inventory would last until approximately mid-April, according to an estimate issued in February.
Subsequent developments showed that the supply disruption had also extended to the company’s operations in Canada. In its second-quarter results, Sherritt said feedstock inventory at the Fort Saskatchewan refinery was depleted on June 22, 2026. It added that mining and processing at the mine had stopped near the end of the quarter, while metal refining at its Canadian facility was halted on the same date. The company had suspended its direct participation in the joint venture’s activities in Cuba on May 7, following the issuance of U.S. Executive Order 14404. This means operating constraints affected both the Cuban project and the Canadian refinery, two links in its nickel and cobalt production chain.
Sherritt’s share of finished nickel production at the Moa project in the second quarter was 1,319 tonnes, compared with 135 tonnes of finished cobalt. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company’s share of finished production was 3,816 tonnes of nickel and 424 tonnes of cobalt. For the project as a whole, 2025 production reached 25,240 tonnes of nickel and 2,728 tonnes of cobalt. These figures use different bases for comparison: the second- and fourth-quarter figures are Sherritt’s share, while the 2025 figures are for the project on a 100% basis. Sherritt and Cuba’s General Nickel each own a 50% stake in the joint venture, according to the Associated Press.
The disruption was reflected in Sherritt’s second-quarter financial results, with a net loss from continuing operations of C$71.1 million, or C$0.10 per share. The company said available liquidity in Canada was C$80.1 million as of June 30, 2026. In its latest update, it acknowledged that it continued to operate with constrained liquidity and that material uncertainty could raise significant doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Interim Chief Executive Peter Hancock described the second quarter as marked by "significant challenges and disruptions." He said the company had focused on preserving liquidity and safety and maximizing fertilizer production, while preparing to restart mining and refining subject to U.S. government approval.
The company is working on a transformation plan for the Moa project, launched after an operational review, that includes new mining equipment, additional technical expertise and projects to remove production bottlenecks and improve efficiency and reliability. Sherritt said these measures were part of its efforts to address operational performance, alongside preparations to resume mining and refining once the necessary approvals are in place. The Associated Press described Cuba’s broader energy supply situation in July as putting pressure on the power grid, reporting that a widespread outage was the third in two weeks. The agency added that Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it needs, amid an ongoing fuel shortage since January. The next announced step for the Moa project is to send the first shipment expected in the fourth quarter, while restarting operations remains contingent on the second emergency license.