Rhiannon Hoyle of The Wall Street Journal reports that nickel suppliers are cutting production amid a glut of the material critical for electric-vehicle batteries. Hoyle writes:
BHP Group will shutter its Australian nickel operations later this year due to a global glut of the metal, one of the key ingredients in batteries for electric vehicles.
The decision to mothball the unprofitable nickel mines and processing operations, as well as a recently acquired project, follows a downturn in battery-metals markets that has left a trail of mine closures and job losses, especially in Australia.
The suspension, which BHP says could last several years, cuts off a key Western source of nickel capable of supplying enough metal to make 700,000 EV batteries each year. It is a blow to U.S. efforts to lessen American companies’ dependency on China, whose companies have been tightening their grip on global nickel supply with big investments in nickel-rich Indonesia. […]
BHP announced a review of the nickel operations in February as prices fell, and at the time said it would write down the value of the business by roughly $3.5 billion before tax. It expects to record a further pretax impairment of roughly $300 million as a result of the suspension, the company said Thursday.
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