The Russia-Ukraine war issue is the current hot topic for netizens of these nations, global leaders, and people from all around the world. This scuffle between the two nations is now a global challenge because the outcomes of this war are affecting the global economy. The war has affected the import-export trade of various commodities from both nations, including metal, grains, and so on.
Since Russia accounts for about 11 percent of the total global supply of nickel ore and 20 percent of the world’s top-grade nickel. Due to the war, the Russian president announced a ban on the export of 200+ products, including nickel and its related products, and this ban had left many traders unsure and confused
Just after the ban, the prices of nickel at the London Metal Exchange (LME) hiked to almost double the initial prices, about $100,000 per tonne. Though the prices have calmed down since then, they are still not the same.
Nickel has been used to make certain types of alloys and E.V. batteries, so the rise in the price of nickel would directly affect the prices of commodities made from it. There is this continuous growth in the E.V. productions, which is causing an increase in the demand for nickel.
It has been estimated that there will be a shortage of nickel by the year 2026, and this estimation was made even before the Russian-Ukrainian war. The reason behind this is the vigorous mining of the raw material.
OPPORTUNITIES AMIDST THE WAR
Since nickel is not a scarce resource, many nations, including China, have nickel reserves. Apart from Russia, it is mined in countries like Indonesia, Australia, New Caledonia, and the Philippines. Though these nations are not producing as much as Russia, they have been contributing, and along with these extensive nickel reserves, they are found on the ocean floor.
After Russia, Indonesia is the third-largest producer of the world’s nickel ores. Since the ore mostly consists of Class 2 nickel, it has been exported to China only for the manufacturing of stainless steel. For that top-grade nickel, Indonesia only produces 6.8 percent of total nickel production. And with this current situation, there are possible chances that Indonesia will soon become a nation that the world will be seeking for nickel exports by advancing their technologies.
