The Canadian mining company Sherritt, one of the largest foreign investments in Cuba, advertisement this Tuesday the suspension of its operations on the island due to the lack of fuel derived from the US oil siege.
The company, which extracts nickel and cobalt in Cuba, indicated in a statement that “it plans to pause its mining operations and put the processing plant on standby during the next week” and that it will take advantage of the forced stoppage to carry out maintenance tasks.
He added that Sherritt has been notified by the Cuban authorities that “the fuel deliveries planned for the Moa (plant) are not going to be fulfilled and that at the moment the date to resume deliveries is unknown.”
It also indicated that its nickel and cobalt refinery in Alberta has accumulated raw materials to continue its operations normally until mid-April.
The Canadian mining company announced that, when it has “greater certainty about the supply chain and the schedule to fully resume operations” in Moa, it will update its business forecasts for the whole of 2026.
Sherritt had already warned in January of the “adverse operating conditions” in Cuba a few days before US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that threatened tariffs on those who supplied oil to the island.
The company then indicated that, for the whole of 2025, its nickel and cobalt production in Cuba was well below both the results for 2024 and the business forecasts at the beginning of the year.
But the US oil blockade has meant a qualitative leap in the difficulties for Sherritt and other international companies to operate on the island.
American pressure is progressively paralyzing the economy, which was already in a very precarious situation after six years of serious crisis, with shortages of basic goods (food, fuel, medicine), high inflation with decrease, dollarization, prolonged daily blackouts and massive migration.
The Cuban Government has implemented a harsh contingency plan that has brought public services to a minimum and has severely rationed fuel.
Canadian company Sherritt recognizes “adverse operating conditions” in Cuba
Sherritt and the Cuban state counterpart have a joint mine and plant in Moa, as well as a metals refinery in Alberta. This mixed initiative is one of the largest foreign investments in Cuba.
Cuba is the seventh or eighth country in the world for nickel reserves, according to different studies. Sherritt has been operating on the island for 30 years in a joint venture with a state-owned company.
Nickel and cobalt are considered strategic metals in the new green economy and are essential for the manufacture of batteries, although their extraction generates global doubts regarding their environmental and social sustainability.
