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Australia’s nickel sector gets funding lifeline amid stiff Indonesian competition, global price plunge
- Canberra has placed nickel in its critical minerals list, which allows industry players access to billions of dollars
- Several Australian nickel mines have closed recently as the industry struggles to cope with the metal’s global oversupply
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Su-Lin Tanin Singapore
Australia has given its nickel production industry a rescue funding boost, signalling the depth of the struggles faced by its miners amid plunging global prices.
To protect the industry, Canberra made an out-of-cycle decision on Friday to place nickel in its critical minerals list so that the country’s nickel companies can access billions of dollars earmarked for these minerals.
Canberra has funding set aside for the development of industries defined as critical, which include lithium and rare earth. These minerals are inputs used in technologies that drive energy transformation, such as electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Nickel, while also key to EV batteries, was not on the list previously but was placed on a “strategic materials list” as a more established industry.
Sharp declines in global prices of the metal have led to mine closures in Australia in recent months, threatening mining jobs. Its price has fallen almost 40 per cent in the past year amid an oversupply, particularly from low-cost producers like Indonesia.
Australian Resources Minister Madeleine King on Friday said in a statement she had exercised her discretion to include nickel in the critical minerals list so producers can access funding from the A$4 billion (US$2.6 billion) Critical Minerals Facility and other grants.
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