Businessman William Pitt says Canada will send food aid to improve the company’s image in the areas where it operates.
14ymedio, Holguín, August 5, 2025 — The collapse of nickel and cobalt mining in Cuba is proceeding apace, with direct consequences both for the economy of the island and for Canada’s historic mineral extraction partner, Sherritt International. According to its most recent quarterly report, the company is experiencing multi-billion dollar losses, a drastic reduction in production and major cuts in its workforce in Canada, while operating conditions in the country are deteriorating.
Sherritt’s second quarter 2025 revenue fell to $43.7 million from $51.4 million in the same period of 2024.
Pitt Wasmer is the heir of one of the families that owned mines confiscated by the Cuban government in 1960.
Businessman William Pitt Wasmer, heir of one of the families that owned mines confiscated by the Cuban government in 1960, shared with 14ymedio a detailed analysis of the crisis facing the nickel industry on the island. The document reveals that the production of mixed sulphides, the base for refining nickel and cobalt, did not meet expectations due to worsening conditions on Cuban territory. Renewed pressure from U.S. measures, shortages of skilled labor and frequent blackouts have contributed to the degradation of results.
The situation led Sherritt to lay off more than 10% of its staff in Saskatchewan (Canada), where it operates the refinery, and another 10% in its corporate office in Toronto. The executive leadership has also been reduced from seven to five members, and several expansion plans in both Cuba and Canada have been postponed.
Following these announcements, the value of shares fell by 3.45%, closing at 0.14 Canadian dollars, very close to its low in the last 52 weeks (0.12). This represents a fall of 63 per cent over the previous year, reflecting the sustained deterioration.
Environmental sanctions in Indonesia and the closure of operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo could reduce global competition.
Sherritt revised downwards its 2025 production forecast from 33,000 to 27,000 tons of nickel and from 3,600 to 3,000 tons of cobalt. Even so, the company clings to a moderate optimism based more on external factors than on local improvements. The imposition of environmental sanctions in Indonesia and the closure of operations for labor conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo could reduce global competition, thus providing a respite.
The company has admitted, for the first time in direct terms, that the situation in Cuba is critical. The lack of trained workers has forced it to import technicians from outside to ensure maintenance at the Moa mine, while electrical instability has forced the company to operate with limited resources. Sherritt maintains its own generation capacity, but the availability of diesel and petrol remains uncertain, and a complete shutdown of the system would seriously affect the chemical refining process.
Nickel revenues fell by 15% in prices and 14% in volume.
The situation affects not only the Pedro Soto Alba plant in Moa but also the operations in Punta Gorda, and the Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara plant has even turned to university students to fill technical positions.
Nickel revenues fell by 15 per cent in prices and 14 per cent in volume. Cobalt reported a 27 per cent increase in prices but failed to offset the lower volume losses. According to Yasmin Gabriel, chief financial officer of Sherritt, combined revenues were lower mainly due to the decline in nickel sales, which has pushed the company into an aggressive cost-containment policy.
The availability of gas has also been limited by problems in the extraction wells.
In the electricity sector, the plants operated by Sherritt in conjunction with Energas continued to face setbacks. In particular, the Varadero plant operated with frequency control to stabilize the national network, which reduced production but kept revenues stable thanks to agreed offsets. However, the availability of gas has also been limited by problems in the extraction wells.
At the same time, the Canadian Government announced that it will provide food aid to more than 78,000 people in areas where Sherritt maintains energy and mining operations on the island. The decision raises questions: Why now? Why right in these locations? Pitt Wasmer suggests that Ottawa is seeking to dampen social rejection of Sherritt because of the polluting effect of its activities and to avoid further erosion of the Canadian image among the Cuban population.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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