According to foreign media reports on February 17, Australia designated nickel as a "critical mineral" on Friday, paving the way for the crisis-hit nickel industry to obtain billions of dollars in cheap government loans. The Australian Prime Minister is preparing to provide more extensive policy support for the green energy industry.
Australia aims to establish a battery chemical industry to extract more value from its mineral wealth. However, due to a surge in nickel supply from Indonesia, nickel prices have plummeted by 40% in a year, and the nickel industry is facing layoffs of thousands of people.
Minister for Resources Madeleine King stated in a statement, "The international nickel price is expected to remain relatively low until 2024 and may continue for several years until the nickel oversupply in the market is corrected." She added, "At the same time, this will pose further risks to Australia's nickel business."
Listing nickel as a critical mineral means that nickel companies will have access to financing from Australia's $4 billion Critical Minerals Facility, which provides low-interest loans and related grant programs.
Critics argue that the decline in nickel prices may undermine Australia's value-added ambitions. It is expected that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will refute these claims in a speech later on Friday.
The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported in a document that Australia plans to launch a large-scale financing plan for the green energy industry to promote the development of domestic clean energy technologies.
On Thursday, BHP said it is considering maintenance and maintenance for its Western nickel business, highlighting the plight of the nickel industry. The company also announced a $2.5 billion write-down for this business.
These factories employ 3,000 workers, and several factories have closed this year before announcing this news. Glencore is the second-largest nickel producer in Australia after BHP. The company expressed "great concern" about the recent closures and nickel industry announcements, stating that the government needs to formulate a comprehensive policy response to support the industry in a "challenging market environment."
This news triggered a surge in Australian nickel mining stocks, with IGO's share price closing up 8.7%.
(1 USD = 1.5359 AUD)