BHP changes gear on nickel

THE rise of electric vehicles is driving BHP Billiton to invest heavily in nickel.

The world’s biggest mining house had planned to end its Nickel West mine operations in Western Australia, but is now looking to expand them. It expects demand for nickel for electric car batteries to account for 90pc of its output within five or six years, replacing traditional markets, such as stainless steel makers.

Last year, BHP produced 85,000 tons of nickel, just under 5pc of world supply.