Nickel Price

Nickel constitutes approximately 0.007 percent of the Earth’s crust, making it the fifth most abundant element in the crust of planet Earth, twice as abundant as copper.

 

Quick Overview of Nickel

✔️An overview of the element nickel (Ni)
✔️The history of nickel
✔️The production of nickel
Trading nickel as a commodity
Factors that drive the price of nickel
Uses of nickel
Worth knowing

 

An overview of the element nickel (Ni)

Nickel is a hundred times more concentrated below the crust of the Earth than in the outermost shell of the Earth. In fact, it is assumed that nickel is the second most abundant element in the inner regions of the Earth, with iron by far the most abundant element.

In terms of deposits, nickel occurs in two types of deposits, namely:

• Laterite-type deposits, resulting from intensive weathering of surface nickel-rich rocks, and
• magmatic sulfide deposits.

Nickel is primarily found in the following minerals:

• Pentlandite – the main source of nickel is a brown-yellow mineral consisting of iron and nickel sulfate. Pentlandite is mined in Russia, South Africa, Australia, and Canada, where about 15 to 30 percent of the global nickel supply is mined in the Sudbury region of Ontario in the country.
• Garnierite – a green mineral consisting of a hydrated silicate of nickel and magnesium. Garnierite is mined in Australia, Russia, New Caledonia, Indonesia, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
• Limonite – a brownish, amorphous mineral mixture containing several iron oxides, especially goethite which contains 1-2 percent nickel.

Nickel also occurs in meteorites that fell to the surface of the earth. It is estimated that siderites (meteorites consisting mainly of nickel and iron) consist of 5 percent to 20 percent nickel. One of these meteorites landed in the Sudbury region near Ontario in Canada.

Also, nickel is found in manganese nodules and crusts on the ocean flour.

 

Nickel facts

• Facts from the periodic table of elements:
• Atomic number, referring to the number of protons in the nucleus: 28.
• Atomic symbol:
• It is classified as a transition metal in group 10 together with palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), and darmstadtium (Ds).
• Nickel is a tough, hard metal, harder than iron.
• It appears silvery white.
• A fairly good conductor of electricity and heat.
• Noticeably resistant to oxidation and corrosion, similar to copper.
• Melts at 1 455 degrees Celsius (2 651 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Boiling point: 2 913 degrees Celsius (5 275 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Nickel is malleable and ductile.
• The metal is one of only four elements that are ferromagnetic, implying they have attracted to magnets while magnetic themselves. The other three ferromagnetic elements are iron, cobalt, and gadolinium. Nickel is ferromagnetic up to 358 degrees Celsius (676 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Density: 8.912 grams per cubic centimetre.
• Solid state at room temperature (20° Celsius/68° Fahrenheit).
• Nickel does not react with water under normal conditions.

 

The history of nickel

Several thousand years before its discovery in 1751, the element nickel was already known and used by people. For instance:

• Syrian bronzes contained a small quantity of nickel in 3 500 BCE.
• Because the metal did not oxidise, it was used by the inhabitants of Peru as a type of silver.
• In China, coins were minted from nickel in 235 BCE, while a zinc-nickel alloy called white copper was in use as long ago as 200 BCE.
• In 1750, miners from Saxony, a small state in the region of what is now called Germany, searched for copper in the Ore Mountains in Saxony. The miners found a brownish-red ore (often with a green coating) they expected to be another copper ore.

The events that followed the discovery of the Saxon miners are described as follows in an article by Katelyn Spidle in December 2015 in CIM Magazine, published by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum.

‘After going through the long and laborious process of extracting, crushing, and roasting the ore, the miners were perplexed when smelting produced a bright and silvery metal that was extremely hard. Try as they might, the miners could not figure out how to make the metal malleable.

After several fruitless attempts, disappointment turned into horror and disgust when the men began to fall ill. Those who were tasked with smelting the mysterious ore began to show signs of poisoning. Many began to experience intense stomach pains, which led to vomiting and diarrhoea. Others got vertigo, resulting in accidents and falls. Some who worked the smelters even became delirious, went into shock, or died.’

Extremely disillusioned, frustrated, and shocked, the miners blamed Nickel, a mischievous demon, referred to as a ‘deceptive little spirit’ in Saxon mythology, for playing a naughty trick on them. Hence, they called the unknown mineral Kupfernickel, meaning ‘copper demon,’ commonly referred to as ‘Old Nick’s copper.’ (Today, we know that the unknown mineral was nickeline, also called niccolite, consisting mainly of nickel arsenide which contains roughly 43.9 percent nickel and 56.1 percent arsenide.)

• In 1751, the Swedish chemist and mineralogist, Axel Fredrik Cronstedt (1722 – 1765) committed himself to discover the appropriate technique to extract copper from the mysterious ore which was then referred to as Kupfernickel. (The ore was actually nickeline.)

Cronstedt executed a number of experiments, including heating Kupfernickel with charcoal to produce a metal, which was obviously not copper as originally expected. The newly discovered metal appeared silver-white and was hard, malleable, ductile, and strong like iron. It also had a significantly high melting point and contained 56 percent arsenic, revealing that the miners from Saxony were not bedeviled by ‘Old Nick,’ but were poisoned by the arsenic that was released during the smelting process.

Hence, Cronstedt was the first person to extract nickel and isolate it as a new element.

• In 1754, Cronstedt named his discovery after the name given by the Saxony miners, Kupfernickel, but he dropped the word ‘kupfer’ to name the newly discovered element ‘nickel.’
• In 1775, the Swedish chemist Torbern Olaf Bergman (1735 – 1784) produced pure nickel, confirming its elemental nature.
• In 1824, it was discovered that nickel could be produced as a by-product in the production of cobalt blue.
• In 1848, Norway became the world’s first large-scale producer of nickel after exploiting nickel-rich pyrrhotite, making nickel widely accessible.
• In 1863, an extraordinarily rich mineral deposit of nickel was discovered in the Sudbury Basin in Canada.

 

The production of nickel

The Nickel Institute, the global association of leading primary nickel producers, indicated that nickel-containing ores are currently (as of 2025) mined in more than 25 countries in the world.

Nickel is economically mined from ore deposits like laterites and magmatic sulfide.

 

• Largest global nickel producers in 2025

Based on data obtained from the US Geological Survey (USGS), Investing News specified the following top global producers of nickel in the world:

1. Indonesia

Produced 1 million metric tonnes (tons) (MT) and has reserves of 21 million MT.

2. Philippines

The Philippines is a country with thirty nickel mines, which produced 340 000 MT in 2025.

3. Russia

Russia produced 250 000 MT in 2025, dropping 22 000 MT from its nickel production of 272 000MT in 2018.

The company, Norilsk Nickel, is one of the largest nickel and palladium producers in the world. Noteworthy, the company’s nosedived almost 90 percent in the last month following the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

4. New Caledonia

New Caledonia is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, approximately 1 500 km east of Australia. It produced 190 000 MT of nickel in 2025, decreasing 30 000 MT from its production of 220 000 MT in 2019.

The country’s economy depends heavily on the price of nickel.

5. Australia

Australia is another top nickel producer which has experienced a decrease in its nickel production from 2019 to 2025. In 2019, the country produced 180 000 MT nickel, while the 2025-production was 20 000 MT less, 160 000 MT.

6. Canada

Canada has suffered a significant drop of 50 000 MT in its nickel production from 2019 (180 000 MT) to 2025 (130 000 MT).

The country’s Sudbury Basin in Ontario is the world’s second-largest supplier of nickel ore.

7. China

China produced 120 000 MT of nickel in 2025. China is the world’s major producer of nickel pig iron, which is a low-grade ferronickel used in stainless steel.

8. Brazil

Contrary to countries such as Russia, New Caledonia, Australia, and Canada, Brazil’s nickel production has increased considerably from 74 400 MT in 2019 to 100 000 MT in 2025 – an increase of 25 600 MT.

 

• Nickel production in Africa and South Africa

In Africa, South Africa was the largest nickel producer with a production of 31 800 MT in 2025, according to Statista.

The following countries were also major producers of nickel in Africa in 2025:

Madagascar: 29 400 MT

Côte d’Ivoire: 27 800 MT

Zimbabwe: 16 200 MT

Zambia: 3 700 MT

There are several nickel-producing mines in South Africa, including the following major producers in 2025, according to Mining Technology based on data obtained from the mining database of Global Data.

 

• Rustenburg Complex of Sibanye-Stillwater

The Rustenburg Complex is an underground and surface mine located in North West Province. It produces nickel as a by-product of platinum group metals (PGMs) such as iridium and ruthenium.

The mine produced 15.6 thousand tonnes of nickel in 2025.

In February 2025, Sibanye-Stillwater acquired the Sandouville nickel processing facility in France.

 

• Mogalakwena Mine

The mine, located in Limpopo Province, is owned by Anglo American Plc. It is the world’s largest open pit (surface mine) which produced an estimated 15.5 thousand tonnes of nickel in 2025.

 

• Impala Mine

The Impala Mine is an underground mine near Rustenburg in North West. It produced an estimated 4.7 thousand tonnes of nickel in 2025. The mine is owned by Impala Platinum Holdings.

 

• Union Mine

The Union Mine is an underground mine owned by Siyanda Resources. It is located in Limpopo Province and produced an estimated 4.2 thousand tonnes of nickel in 2025.

In addition, Nkomati Nickel, situated in Mpumalanga Province, is also a producer of nickel. African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) owns the mine on a 50/50 basis with Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel), the Russian platinum group metals (PGMs). The mine was a large producer of nickel until the two companies decided in 2019 to postpone operations at the mine after the reporting of losses.

At the presentation of ARM’s interim results in March 2025, no final decision about future operations at the mine has been made.

 

• Primary production of nickel

Nickel is primarily produced by extracting the metal from ores that contain nickel.

The two main nickel ores, laterite-types, and magmatic sulfide require different techniques to extract the nickel. Regardless of the type of technique, processing nickel involves a number of steps.

Although magmatic sulfide ores are more expensive to mine, extracting nickel from these ores is less expensive than separating the metal from laterite-type ore deposits.

 

Differences between laterites and magmatic sulfide are, amongst others:

Description	Sulfide	Laterites
Occurrence	In minerals like pentlandite, pyrrhotite, and millerite. Typically found with copper-bearing ores	In minerals such as garnierite and limonite. Usually found in ores containing iron
Approximate nickel content	1 percent	4 percent
Deposit location	Deposits are typically found deep underground	Deposits are usually found in varying depths just beneath the surface
Mining type	Underground mining which is labour-intensive and expensive	Open-pit (surface) mining, a less expensive method

 

• Producing nickel from magmatic sulfide

Extracting nickel from sulfide ores requires froth flotation tanks and magnetic processes, producing two intermediate products, namely nickel matte and nickel oxide, both with a nickel content varying between 30 to 70 percent nickel.

Subsequently, the Sherrit-Gordon process is applied to further refine the nickel matte. In this process, hydrogen sulfide is added to the molten material to get rid of the copper, leaving a mixture rich in cobalt and nickel. The cobalt is then extracted by adding solvent, producing a nickel concentration of more than 99 percent.

The Mond process is used for the further processing of nickel oxide. The Mond process, also called the carbonyl process, was created by Ludwig Mond (1839 – 1909), a German-born, chemist and industrialist from Britain, to extract and purify nickel.

This process is based on the reality that carbon monoxide combines with nickel readily and reversibly to produce nickel carbonyl. The process involves three steps:

1. Syngas (a mixture of hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide gas) is combined with nickel oxide at 200 degrees Celsius, generating impure nickel, containing impurities iron and cobalt.
2. The impure nickel is reacted with excess carbon monoxide at 50 – 60 degrees Celsius to form nickel carbonyl while the impurities remain as solids.
3. The mixture of excess carbon monoxide and nickel carbonyl is heated to 220 – 250 degrees Celsius in high-temperature chambers, causing nickel carbonyl to decompose to produce pure nickel.

Also, nickel carbonyl can be circulated in smaller chambers at a temperature of about 220° Celsius to create a fine, pure nickel powder.

 

• Producing nickel from laterite-type ores

Laterite-type ores with their high iron content make smelting the preferred technique to extract nickel. Laterites have a high moisture content, making it necessary to extract the nickel from its ores through a conventional drying method which removes the moisture from the ore.

The next step is to remove the nickel oxide by reducing furnaces at temperatures between 1 360 – 1 610 degrees Celsius (2 480 – 2 930 degrees Fahrenheit), producing Class 1 nickel metal and nickel sulfate.

The natural iron content typically produces a final product after smelting that is a combination of iron and nickel, referred to as ferronickel.

 

• Recycling – Secondary production of nickel

Similar to several other metals, nickel is fully recyclable. Products containing nickel have value and can be recycled repeatedly without loss of quality.

However, an insignificant amount of nickel is recycled to its original state. Instead, discarded nickel products are regularly recycled into other valuable products containing nickel.

 

Trading nickel as a commodity

To start trading nickel as a commodity you will need the services of a regulated and trustworthy commodity broker.

Ways to trade the commodity include the following:

• Nickel bullion such as bars or coins is the most direct way to invest in nickel.
• Nickel futures contracts are available on the London Metals Exchange (LME). Specifications of the contract are, inter alia, a grade of 99.8 percent pure nickel, 6 metric tonnes of nickel per contract, quoted in US dollars and cents.
• Nickel exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) that trade nickel futures contracts. There are two ETFs available, namely: iPath Dow Jones-UBS Nickel ETN and apathy Pure Beta Nickel ETN.
• Contracts for difference (CFDs).
• Publicly traded nickel companies

There are several publicly traded companies that are engaged in nickel mining and processing, having some exposure to nickel prices.

 

Examples of such companies are:

• Glencore is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
• BHP is traded on the LSE, JSE, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
• Sibanye-Stillwater, listed on the JSE.

 

 

Factors that drive the price of nickel

As a commodity, nickel is known for the proneness of its price fluctuation, as can be observed from the following data about the metal’s average prices over the years provided by Statista.

• 2000: $8 638 per MT
• 2011: $22 910 per MT
• 2016: $9 595 per MT
• 2020: $13 787 per MT
• 2021: $18 465 per MT, an increase of $4 678 per MT (33.9 percent), due to the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

As of July 15, 2025, the closing price of nickel was $19 095 per metric tonne, $1 237.50 (6.09 percent) down from the previous day’s closing price of $20 332.50 per MT. The closing price of 15 July was $29 131 (60.4 percent) lower than the metal’s record high on March 11, 2025, of $48 226 per MT.

Nickel’s exceptionally high price in March was mainly caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February and the ensuing events.

Currently, the price of nickel is mainly driven by two factors, namely the use of stainless steel and electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Reuters reported on May 19,2022, that ‘global nickel usage surged by an extraordinary 16.2% last year on the back of booming demand from both the dominant stainless steel and fast-growing battery end-use sectors.’

The International Stainless Steel Forum mentioned that stainless steel ‘is still the largest driver of nickel usage and global output,’ indicating that the use of the alloy rose by 10.6 percent to 56.3 million tonnes in 2025.

Nickel is also considered an essential metal in the manufacture of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. According to Morgan Stanley, an American investment company, the demand for EV batteries grew by 16 percent in 2025, expecting to grow by approximately 8 percent in 2025 to 2.89 million tonnes.

 

Uses of nickel

Nickel is one of the most widely used metals in the world because of its strength, ductility, resistance to corrosion and heat, and magnetism.

It is estimated that the element is used in more than 300 000 products and applications in, inter alia, the military, marine, transport, construction, aerospace, and marine sectors.

Nickel is a sustainable commodity and cannot be created or destroyed.

According to the Nickel Institute, the use of the metal can be classified into the ‘first use of nickel’ and the ‘end use of nickel.’[1]

• The first use of nickel

‘First use’ of nickel refers to the conversion of nickel into intermediate products.

First-use applications of nickel include:

• Stainless steel

Almost 70 percent of global nickel production is used to produce stainless steel. Although, nickel is not used to make steel ‘stainless,’ – this ability belongs to the metal chromium.

However, it is nickel as an alloying element that allows stainless steel to become an exceptional versatile alloy, enhancing its ductility and formability, weldability, and toughness.

 

• Batteries

The Nickel Institute believes that ‘the major advantage of using nickel in batteries is that it helps deliver higher energy density and greater storage capacity at a lower cost.’

Since the 1980s, nickel has been widely used in rechargeable batteries like nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries and in the longer-lasting nickel metal hybrid (NiMH) batteries.

Recently, the incorporation of Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles (EVs) has increased the use of nickel-containing batteries.

 

• Nickel alloys

Nickel’s ability to combine readily with several other metals allows for a significant variety of alloys with features such as excellent strength at high temperatures, high electrical resistance, and the ability to resist oxidation, to name a few.

The following is a list of the various nickel alloy types:

• Wrought Nickel

Due to its corrosion resistance, pure nickel is used in the chemical industry, especially in alkalis.

• Nickel-Iron Alloys

The alloys have soft magnetic properties and are used in transformers, inductors, and magnetic shields, to mention a few.

• Nickel-Copper Alloys

These alloys are highly resistant to corrosion by, inter alia, seawater and alkaline solutions.

• Nickel-Molybdenum Alloys

They are highly resistant to reducing acids in the absence of oxidizing ions, such as cupric and ferric.

• Nickel-Chromium Alloys

The properties of these alloys include high resistance to corrosion at both normal and high temperatures, excellent high-temperature strength, and high electrical resistance.

• Other nickel alloys are Chromium-Iron Alloys, Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum Alloys, Nickel-Chromium-Cobalt Alloys, and Nickel-Titanium Alloys.

 

• Nickel electroplating

Nickel is electroplated on other metals to form a protective coating, providing a unique combination of wear and corrosion resistance.

Nickel plating is applied in coinage production, in the automotive industry, in the aerospace industry, in electronics, and in the plating of plastics.

 

• Copper-Nickel Alloys

According to the Nickel Institute, copper-nickel alloys have a ‘unique combination of high levels of resistance to corrosion, good thermal conductivity, and low macro-organism attachment in marine environments.’

These alloys are applied in seawater pipelines, naval condensers, shipbuilding, and desalination plants, converting seawater into fresh water.

 

• Nickel compounds

Nickel compounds derive from nickel metal, consisting of nickel plus at least one other element, chemically bonded together. The compounds are usually available in powder, granule, or liquid form.

They are used in various sectors such as electronics, surface finishing, glass, and ceramics.

 

• The end use of nickel

The products manufactured from nickel as first-use products, referred to as intermediate products, form the basis for nickel-containing end-use products. Normally, intermediate products require further processing before they can be used as end-use products.

 

Nickel is used in a variety of end-use sectors such as:

• architecture, building, and construction,
• process engineering in the production of petrochemicals, chemicals, pharmaceutical compounds, fertilizers, and plastics,
• energy and power in which nickel is used in the oil and gas industries and in power generation, including renewable energy,
• water where nickel-containing materials can contribute to the safe and efficient provision of water and simultaneously conserve existing resources,
• healthcare where nickel alloys and nickel-containing stainless steels are used in the making of medical instruments, implantable medical devices such as joint replacements and stents used in angioplasty,
• consumer products, including electronic devices, such as laptops and smartphones, kitchen appliances, kitchen sinks, taps, cutlery, and utensils,
• transport, and
• pulp and paper.

In addition, alnico magnets, an alloy of aluminium, nickel, and cobalt, are extremely strong magnets, retaining their magnetism even at high temperatures.

Nickel is also used in the manufacturing of wires. According to the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, commonly called the Jefferson Lab, one kilogram of nickel can be drawn into 300 kilometres of wire.

 

Worth knowing

• Ancient Egyptians shaped fragments of meteorites, mainly consisting of nickel and iron, into objects of beauty.
• Trace amounts of nickel are naturally found in most vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
• Glass is coloured green when nickel is added in the manufacturing process.
• Nickel can be toxic when too much enters the human body through the inhaling of traces of nickel dust or the intake of food.
• In 1881, Switzerland started to use pure nickel in the production of coins.
• The US five-cent piece, referred to as a ‘nickel,’ comprises 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper.
• The word ‘nickel’ is a slang term for ‘five’ of anything, for example, a five-year prison sentence.
• Axel Cronstedt, the discoverer of nickel, was a pupil of Georg Brandt, the Swedish chemist who discovered cobalt.

Note: This article does not constitute investment, financial, or trading advice. Please obtain the advice of a professional and regulated commodity broker before making trading and investment decisions.

 

[1] Information about the ‘first use’ and ‘end use of nickel’ is obtained from the website of the Nickel Institute.