By Claudia Carpenter Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Nickel's advance accelerated in London after Brazil's Cia. Vale do Rio Doce said it was cutting production and may delay new mines. Nickel for delivery in three months jumped $850, or 9.1 percent, to $10,200 a metric ton as of 4:23 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange, erasing an earlier drop to $8,850, the lowest since July 2003. Vale has cut 65 percent of its production at a nickel plant in China and is reducing output in Indonesia by 20 percent, Chief Executive Officer Roger Agnelli said. The company's Goro and Onca Puma nickel mines will start up late, he added. The Onca Puma nickel mine in Brazil was scheduled to start in the first quarter of next year and Goro on the island of New Caledonia was to start this month. Nickel disruptions at mining companies including BHP Billiton Ltd. and Xstrata Plc were expected to reduce output by 35,000 tons this year and 11,000 tons next year, according to a Barclays Capital report this month. To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net or ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

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