The rapid growth of nickel production is closely linked to the partnership between China, the world’s largest producer of electric vehicle batteries, and Indonesia. Chinese investment has boosted Indonesia’s mining capacity and focused on domestic nickel refining following a ban on nickel ore exports in 2022. While there are economic benefits, there are growing concerns about the environmental impacts, including water pollution and deforestation near mining sites.
Rising nickel production in Indonesia has led to oversupply and depressed prices, affecting producers in Australia and Canada. In the US, companies such as Talon Metals are promoting a secure supply chain by developing local nickel sources under strict environmental standards and partnering with automakers such as Tesla to promote battery recycling to meet growing global demand for EVs and renewable energy.
“We have resources here and we have resources in our free trade allies, so it makes sense that we want these companies to source wherever they want,” said Todd Malan, chief external relations officer at Talon Metals. “It’s produced to a high standard. It costs a little bit to source, but it’s not enough to change the price of the vehicle.”
In 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk called on mining companies to increase nickel production during a post-earnings conference call.
“Mining companies, mine more nickel,” Elon Musk said. “If you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally responsible way, Tesla will give you a long-term, huge contract. Hopefully this message gets across to all mining companies: get your nickel.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. faces major challenges with its nickel supplies, relying on just one operating mine in Michigan. The U.S. mined 17,000 tons of nickel in 2023, while Indonesia produced 1.8 million tons. Talon Metals is working to open a new nickel mine in Minnesota, but it could take decades to reach full production.
Watch the video Understand how companies are growing nickel production while addressing environmental issues in the technology sector.
