IN SUMMARY
Nickel is a hard, silvery-white transition metal whose corrosion resistance, high-temperature strength and electrochemical properties make it essential to stainless steel, alloys, catalysts and, increasingly, batteries. It has become a critical material in the energy transition, as battery makers raise the nickel content of NMC cathodes to boost energy density. But nickel comes from two very different ore types, sulphides and laterites, whose processing routes diverge sharply in complexity, co-products and carbon footprint. This guide, part of Minviro's "Explore the Elements" series, introduces nickel's sources, processing routes and the role of LCA.
Nickel is a battery metal on a steep growth curve. Stainless steel and batteries account for around 82% of demand, and nickel for EV batteries (about 280,000 tonnes a year, roughly 10% of demand today) could exceed 1.3 million tonnes by 2030 as NMC cathodes trend toward higher nickel content.
Two ore types, two very different footprints. About 72% of nickel comes from laterite ores and 28% from sulphides, and the processing route, smelting, HPAL, or others, largely determines the environmental impact.
Supply is concentrated in Southeast Asia. Around 60% of production originates in Southeast Asia and Oceania, led by Indonesia, which is targeting two million tonnes of annual capacity by 2030.
Why nickel matters, in steel and in batteries
Nickel is a hard, silvery-white transition metal found in minerals such as pentlandite, garnierite and laterites, and its corrosion resistance, strength at high temperatures and electrochemical properties make it a key input to stainless steel, alloys, catalysts and batteries. Demand is growing fast, with a forecast compound annual growth rate of 4.8% from 2023 to 2028, driven heavily by batteries. Its role in EV cathodes is central: the nickel:manganese:cobalt (NMC) ratio has shifted from 1:1:1 toward roughly 9:0.5:0.5, raising nickel content to increase energy density, and emerging chemistries like LNMO also depend on nickel. Today the industry uses around 280,000 tonnes of nickel a year for EV batteries, about 10% of total demand, a figure projected to exceed 1.3 million tonnes by 2030. Stainless steel and batteries together make up around 82% of demand, with the rest going to alloys, superalloys, electroplating and special steels.
Two ore types: sulphides and laterites
Terrestrial nickel comes from two primary ore types with very different characteristics. Sulphide ores carry nickel grades from about 0.25% to 4% and are mined underground and open-pit in regions like Canada's Sudbury Basin, Russia's Norilsk, Western Australia and South Africa's Bushveld Complex. Their great advantage is valuable co-products: copper, cobalt, platinum group metals and gold often occur alongside the nickel, improving both the economics and, because one supply chain yields several metals, the environmental picture. Laterite ores are surface deposits split into limonite (shallower, higher iron, 0.9–1.6% nickel) and saprolite (deeper, higher magnesium, 1.5–2.5% nickel). In 2022 around 72% of nickel was extracted from laterites and 28% from sulphides, a shift toward laterites driven by Southeast Asian production and by processing advances that have made lower-grade deposits economically viable.