What different dynamics are affecting nickel provide? In case you’re occupied with getting publicity to the market, you have to be conscious of the components at play. To get you began, here is a take a look at the highest nickel-producing nations.
1. Indonesia
Nickel manufacturing: 2.2 million metric tons
Indonesia’s produced a whopping 2.2 million metric tons of nickel in 2024, accounting for greater than 50 p.c of worldwide output. Claiming first place for manufacturing by an extended shot, Indonesia is a major instance of a rustic desirous to get in on the exploding marketplace for nickel. Indonesia additionally hosts 55 million metric tons of nickel reserves.
Indonesia’s output of the bottom steel has grown tremendously from its 2017 manufacturing of 345,000 metric tons. The nation is actively constructing out its EV battery business, and Indonesia’s shut proximity to China, the world’s present chief in EV manufacturing, makes for a super setup. In Could 2021, the nation welcomed the commissioning of its first plant to course of nickel to be used in EV batteries.
“In simply three years, Indonesia has signed greater than a dozen offers price greater than $15 billion for battery supplies and EV manufacturing with world producers,” Euronews reported in early 2023.
Main auto maker Ford (NYSE:F)Â introduced in December 2023 that it’s taking a direct stake within the proposed US$3.8 billion Pomalaa battery nickel plant, which is deliberate to provide 120,000 MT of nickel yearly utilizing excessive stress acid leaching know-how.
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, one of many world’s largest nickel producers, has a 73.2 p.c stake within the venture, adopted by Vale (NYSE:VALE) at 18.3 p.c. Ford has agreed to an preliminary 8.5 p.c curiosity, with an possibility to lift it to 17 p.c. As of late 2024, Huayou is in search of out banks for roughly US$2.7 billion in financing.
The nation’s nickel business has seen a number of important modifications in 2025, with Indonesia responding to falling costs by considerably slicing its nickel mining quotas and saying plans to introduce stricter environmental, social and governance practices in its useful resource industries.
2. Philippines
Nickel manufacturing: 330,000 metric tons
In 2024, the Philippines produced 330,000 metric tons of nickel. The nation has been one of many high nickel-producing nations for fairly a while, in addition to a big nickel ore exporter. One other nation in shut proximity to China, the Philippines at present has greater than 30 nickel mines, together with Rio Tuba, operated by Nickel Asia, one of many nation’s high nickel ore producers.
2023 was a giant yr for the nation’s nickel mines as whole manufacturing jumped from 345,000 to 413,000 MT. That surge was projected to proceed as two of the Philippines’ greatest nickel producers, Nickel Asia and World Ferronickel, have been planning to speculate a few mixed US$2 billion to construct new nickel-processing crops, Bloomberg reported.
Nevertheless, many nickel miners within the Philippines have been pressured to scale back or halt manufacturing in 2024 as Indonesia’s manufacturing charges proceed to flood the market, leading to oversupply and declining costs, as per the US Geological Survey.
3. Russia
Nickel manufacturing: 210,000 metric tons
Russia produced 210,000 metric tons of nickel in 2024. Despite the fact that it holds the third spot on this listing of the world’s high nickel producers, Russia has seen its nickel output drop from totals seen earlier this decade. In 2020, the nation’s nickel output totaled 283,000 metric tons.
Russia’s Norilsk Nickel is among the world’s largest high-grade nickel and palladium producers. Nornickel’s flagship nickel asset is its Norilsk Division on the Taymyr Peninsula in Siberia, which incorporates a number of mines, concentrators and metallurgical crops. It additionally has property within the Kola Peninsula in Northwest Russia.
In mid-2024, america and the UK joined forces to put a ban on Russian nickel imports.
4. Canada
Nickel manufacturing: 190,000 metric tons
Canada’s nickel manufacturing in 2024 totaled 190,000 metric tons, up considerably from 159,000 metric tons in 2023. The nation’s Sudbury Basin is the second largest provider of nickel ore on the earth, and Vale’s Sudbury operation is positioned there.
One other key nickel producer in Canada is Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF), which owns the Raglan mine in Québec and the Sudbury Built-in Nickel Operations in Ontario. The main miner’s Sudbury website consists of the Nickel Rim South mine, the Fraser mine, the Strathcona mill and the Sudbury smelter.
Canada Nickel Firm (TSXV:CNC,OTCQX:CNIKF) is advancing its Crawford nickel sulfide venture towards a development determination in 2025. In February 2024, the corporate introduced plans to develop a US$1 billion nickel processing plant in Ontario, which as soon as full can be North America’s largest.
In 2025, Canadian metal and aluminum has turn out to be the topic of a 25 p.c tariff imposed by the US Trump administration, which he elevated to 50 p.c in June.
Nickel steel originating from Canada is at present exempt underneath the Canada-US-Mexico Settlement that changed NAFTA in July 2020 underneath Trump’s first administration, however the steel’s use in stainless-steel may trigger a trickle-down impact. Final yr, Canada was the biggest exporter of nickel to america, accounting for 46 p.c of US nickel imports. That is in comparison with 11 p.c from the following greatest provider, Norway.
5. China
Nickel manufacturing: 120,000 metric tons
China’s nickel manufacturing in 2024 was 120,000 metric tons, up barely from 117,000 metric tons within the earlier yr. Nickel manufacturing within the Asian nation has remained comparatively constant lately. Along with being a high nickel-producing nation, China is the world’s main producer of nickel pig iron, a low-grade ferronickel utilized in stainless-steel. Jinchuan Group, a subsidiary of Jinchuan Group Worldwide Sources (HKEX:2362), is a big nickel producer in China.
With Indonesia’s surplus weighing available on the market, China’s place as a significant importer of the nation’s nickel and a high producer of stainless-steel implies that it additionally influences nickel value dynamics.
6. New Caledonia
Nickel manufacturing: 110,000 metric tons
In 2024, New Caledonia produced 110,000 metric tons of nickel, down greater than 52 p.c from its output within the earlier yr. The economic system of this French territory simply off the coast of Australia relies upon closely on its nickel mining business and the value of nickel, however just lately New Caledonia’s nickel business has been suffering from rising vitality prices and sociopolitical unrest.
In February 2024, main miner Glencore made the choice to shutter its Koniambo nickel mine and put it up on the market. The corporate cited excessive working prices and a weak nickel market.
Given these circumstances, the French authorities has provided a 200 million euro bailout bundle for New Caledonia’s nickel business. However the transfer hasn’t gone as deliberate, with dealer Trafigura deciding to not contribute to the bailout of Prony Sources Nouvelle-Caledonie and the Goro mine, by which it has a 19 p.c stake.
Whereas the Goro mine stays operational, its future remains to be in limbo.
7. Australia
Nickel manufacturing: 110,000 metric tons
Australia produced 110,000 metric tons of nickel in 2024, a greater than 26 p.c drop from its output in 2023. One high miner within the nation is BHP (NYSE:BHP,ASX:BHP,LSE:BHP) via its Nickel West division.
Australia’s largest nickel mines additionally embody First Quantum Minerals’ (TSX:FM,OTC Pink:FQVLF) Ravensthorpe and Glencore’s Murrin Murrin. Low costs have wreaked havoc on nickel mining within the nation, resulting in diminished or sidelined operations at six totally different nickel services within the nation beginning in December 2023, together with Ravensthorpe.
The scenario was sufficient to immediate the Australian authorities so as to add nickel to its important minerals listing, which permits the nation’s nickel business to obtain assist via the federal government’s AU$4 billion Vital Minerals Facility.
Australia is the supply of 8 p.c of US nickel imports in line with US Geological Survey knowledge. As of late-April 2025, Australian nickel will not be but the topic of US import tariffs.
8. Brazil
Nickel manufacturing: 77,000 metric tons
Brazil’s nickel manufacturing got here in at 77,000 metric tons in 2024, down almost 7 p.c from the earlier yr as producers grappled with a weaker market.
Main nickel mining operations within the nation embody Atlantic Nickel’s Santa Rita nickel-copper-cobalt sulfide mine within the state of Bahia. Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF) is set to promote its nickel portfolio within the nation, together with its Barro Alto mine, to MMG (OTC Pink:MMLTF,HKEX:1208) subsidiary MMG Singapore Sources for as much as US$500 million in money.
Centaurus Metals (ASX:CTM,OTCQX:CTTZF) is advancing the Jaguar nickel venture within the Carajás mineral province. The venture hosts a useful resource of 138.2 million MT at a mean grade of 0.87 p.c nickel, totaling 1.2 million MT of contained nickel. Jaguar was one among three mining initiatives chosen by the Brazilian authorities to obtain assist in acquiring environmental licenses.
9. United States
Nickel manufacturing: 8,000 metric tons
Lastly, america produced 8,000 metric tons of nickel in 2024, representing a greater than 50 p.c decline from the nationwide output within the earlier yr.
The Eagle mine is the one major nickel-mining property within the US. The asset, positioned on the Yellow Canine Plains within the Higher Peninsula of Michigan, is a small, high-grade nickel-copper mine owned by Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN,OTC Pink:LUNMF). Output from the mine was exported to smelters in Canada and abroad.
Nickel is included on the US’ important minerals listing, and in September 2023, underneath the Protection Manufacturing Act, the US Division of Protection awarded US$20.6 million to Talon Metals (TSX:TLO,OTC Pink:TLOFF) for additional exploration and mineral useful resource definition at its Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt venture in Minnesota.
An environmental overview course of is underway for the proposed Tamarack underground mine. The corporate plans to course of ore from the mine at a proposed battery mineral processing facility in North Dakota. Talon has stated it intends to provoke the allowing course of for the power in 2025.
FAQs for nickel manufacturing
How is nickel mined and processed?
How nickel is mined and processed relies upon upon many components, corresponding to the dimensions, grade, morphology and depth of the nickel deposit that is into account. Whereas lateritic nickel deposits are usually mined from open pits by way of strip mining, sulfide nickel deposits are sometimes mined utilizing underground extraction strategies.
After mining, nickel ore is processed into higher-grade concentrates via crushing and separating nickel-bearing materials from different minerals utilizing varied bodily and chemical processing strategies. Subsequent, the concentrates are smelted in a furnace earlier than the ultimate stage of refinement utilizing pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes.
How unhealthy is nickel mining for the surroundings?
Nickel mining entails severe environmental issues, together with air and water air pollution, habitat destruction, neighborhood displacement, wildlife migration sample disturbances, greenhouse gasoline emissions and carbon-intensive vitality use. Nickel-mining corporations trying to provide the EV market are feeling the stress to minimize the environmental footprint of their operations.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, maintain no direct funding curiosity in any firm talked about on this article.
Editorial Disclosure: Canada Nickel Firm is a shopper of the Investing Information Community. This text will not be paid-for content material.
