Critical Minerals and Energy Intelligence

Nickel Market – News Highlights for the Quarter

A quick roundup of pertinent nickel news in Q1 of this year.

Nickel Price Spikes and Cancelled Trades: Let’s start with the obvious. In early March, nickel prices spiked over 250% in just two days, briefly topping $100,000 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange. The LME had to suspend trading and even canceled some trades.
Russia’s War in Ukraine: Russia accounts for around 10% of global nickel supply, especially the high-grade material needed for EV batteries.
Tsingshan’s Massive Short Squeeze: Chinese stainless steel giant Tsingshan got caught in a huge short position during the March price surge.
Nickel Becomes the New Battery Star: Nickel-rich battery chemistries (NCM 811, NCA, etc.) continued to gain traction globally, especially in North America and Europe.
Indonesia Still the Top Dog: Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer, kept ramping up output — and refining capacity. With its export ban still in effect, the country’s focus on building downstream industries is paying off.
Philippino Moves: The Philippines has announced plans to open a dozen new metallic mines in 2022, most of them nickel.
Low Nickel Inventories: By the end of Q1, nickel inventories in LME warehouses dropped about 70% from the previous April.
Nickel Becomes a Strategic Asset: Governments are waking up to nickel being a critical metal; exploring how to secure domestic production and processing capacity.
Investment Money Pouring: From battery start-ups to new refineries and mining projects, money is moving into the nickel space.

Anthony Milewski

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