Australia’s Federal Resources Minister, Madeleine King, has placed nickel on the Critical Minerals List to allow nickel companies to gain access to billions of dollars in Commonwealth funding.
Since the Critical Minerals List was last updated on 16 December 2023, six operating nickel facilities have announced a reduction in operations or gone into care and maintenance.
Nickel being placed on Australia’s Critical Minerals List means that companies will have access to financing under the $4bn Critical Minerals Facility and critical minerals-related grant programmes.
What is the importance of nickel?
A strong resources industry is important for the strength of Australia’s economy.
The sector is critical for the road to net zero, and nickel is essential to the energy transition.
According to the Nickel Institute, Australia has 21,000,000 tonnes of nickel, accounting for 19.6% of the global reserves.
The mineral has a wide range of applications, including in EV battery manufacturing, making production crucial.
Australian nickel operations at risk
Minister King stated that there are substantial structural challenges facing the nickel industry that cannot be addressed overnight.
“The international nickel price is forecast to stay relatively low through 2024, and likely for several years to come until the surplus of nickel in the market is corrected,” Minister King said.
“In the meantime, this puts further Australian nickel operations at risk.
“Given impacts to our domestic capacity and noting the broader market developments presently unfolding in the nickel sector, I am fully convinced that we must be proactive in addressing the recent developments, including by adding nickel to the Critical Minerals List.”
Sustainable mineral production
Nickel resources in Australia are produced to high ESG standards. This means that Australia offers more sustainable and ethical critical minerals than many of the country’s competitors.
Importantly, the country is a world leader in conditions and protections afforded to workers.
Minister King said that she has been progressing important discussions with international counterparts in the UK, Canada, and the EU to ensure high standards applied in Australia’s critical mineral mining and production are reflected in prices on international markets.
The Australian Government is working to ensure that the country’s nickel producers are able to compete fairly in international markets.
