Building a clean, secure nickel supply chain in the West
Nickel was added to the US critical mineral list in 2022, due to its importance in making stainless steel, superalloys (for aerospace), as well as in electric batteries.
The concern is the concentration of supply and processing increasingly anchored in one country. That risk was exposed during The Great Nickel Trade War, which led to the suspension of at least eight nickel operations outside Indonesia (largely in Australia) and reinforced by China’s subsequent export restrictions on other critical minerals, from rare earths to antimony, in its escalating trade conflict with the US.
So, Western nations are racing to develop their own sources of secure, “clean” nickel with a raft of policy and investment measures, including:
Canada
- in 2022, the 30% Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (CMETC) was introduced to pull capital into exploration for minerals, including nickel
- in 2025, launched the Major Project Office (MPO) to fast-track big projects (including critical minerals) to final investment decisions faster via coordination and regulatory certainty
- a critical mineral strategy under Canada’s Defence Production Act guaranties buyers for domestic producers and hints at government-backed price floors to counter China’s supply chain dominance, as well as CAD$6.4billion investment in 26 mining projects
- in 2025, Ontario launched the One Project, One Process (1P1P), provincial permitting coordination to compress timelines for strategic mines
Australia
- Western Australia’s Nickel Financial Assistance Program (royalty relief) with 50% royalty rebate for an 18-month window when prices are below US$20,000/t, repayable over 24 months (a de facto price-linked support mechanism)
- the Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive (CMPTI) with 10% refundable tax offset on eligible processing/refining expenditure for critical minerals processed in Australia
- in 2026, a Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve (AUS$1.2billion) of government-backed offtakes/forward contracts and stockpiling mechanics to de-risk projects and strengthen supply chains
United States
- Executive orders from the President Trump to accelerate domestic mineral production (March 2025): White House directive aimed at faster permitting and expanded federal support tools for domestic mining/processing
- in 2023, the Pentagon directly founded nickel exploration and supply chain work in Talon Metals Corp to expand domestic feedstock with investment via the Defense Production Act
And, in international cooperation (despite recent volatile geopolitics), the West has agreed to a series of partnerships for investment and supply. All of these moves anticipate an acceleration in nickel demand, in particular in electric vehicles.
