Nickel has been trending down since early 2023, and bearish sentiment still pervades the market in 2024. Supply is expected to outflank demand over the short term, but the longer-term outlook for the metal is strong.
The Investing News Network (INN) spoke to analysts to get their thoughts on the biggest nickel trends to watch for in 2024, and what they think will affect the market moving forward. They discussed factors such as oversupply, weaker-than-expected demand from China and doubts about the London Metal Exchange after it suspended trading last year.
“Global nickel consumption is expected to increase due to recovery of the stainless steel sector and increased usage of nickel in EV batteries. Batteries now account for almost 17 percent of total nickel demand, behind stainless steel," Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING, told INN in the lead-up to 2024. “The metal’s appeal to investors as a key green metal will support higher prices in the longer term,” she said.
Below INN has listed the top nickel stocks on the TSX, TSXV and CSE by share price performance so far this year. All year-to-date and share price data was obtained on February 22, 2024, using TradingView’s stock screener. The top nickel stocks listed had market caps above C$10 million at that time.
1. EV Nickel (TSXV:EVNI)
Year-to-date gain: 96.67 percent; market cap: C$53.03 million; current share price: C$0.59
Canadian nickel exploration company EV Nickel’s primary project is the 30,000-hectare Shaw Dome in Ontario. The project includes the high-grade W4 deposit, which has a resource of 2 million tonnes at 0.98 percent nickel for 43.3 million pounds of Class 1 Nickel across Measured, Indicated and Inferred; and the Large-Scale CarLang A Zone, which has a resource estimate of 1 billion tonnes at 0.24 percent nickel for 5.3 billion pounds of Class 1 Nickel across Indicated and Inferred.
EV Nickel is also working on integrating carbon capture and storage technology for large-scale clean nickel production with majority funding from the Canadian Government and the provincial government of Ontario. In late 2023, the company announced it was moving its carbon capture research and development to the pilot plant stage.
The company’s share price started off the year at C$0.30 before steadily climbing to the year-to-date high of C$0.69 on February 12.
2. Fathom Nickel (CSE:FNI)
Year-to-date gain: 34.78 percent; market cap: C$19.53 million; current share price: C$0.115
Exploration company Fathom Nickel says its mission is to target magmatic nickel sulphide discoveries to support the global EV market. The company’s portfolio includes the Albert Lake nickel-copper-PGE project and the Gochager Lake nickel-copper project in Saskatchewan’s Trans Hudson Corridor. The 90,000- hectare Albert Lake project hosts the historic and past-producing Rottenstone deposit.
Fathom Nickel kicked off its winter exploration program at Albert Lake in the first week of February, including a 2,000-2,500 meter drill program in an area where the company had identified a robust time domain electromagnetic (TDEM) conductor over the summer.
The company’s stock moved from C$0.12 at the start of the year to a year-to-date high of C$0.21 per share.
3. Sama Resources (TSXV:SME)
Year-to-date gain: 20 percent; market cap: C$25.308 million; current share price: C$0.12
Sama Resources’ focus is on the Samapleu nickel-copper-PGE project in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, which includes the Samapleu and Grata deposits. Samapleu is a joint venture between Sama (70 percent) and Ivanhoe Electric (30 percent), which has the option to purchase up to a 60 percent interest in the project.
In the first few weeks of the year, Sama has dropped a few press releases sharing highlights from its ongoing 3,800-meter winter drilling program at the Yepleu prospect. Importantly, the work confirmed that newly discovered nickel-copper-PGE mineralization measures 500 x 400 meters, is near-surface, and open in all directions. Drill results from this program so far include drill hole S-349 which intersected a 53-meter of combined mineralization layers grading 0.29 percent nickel including 2.60 meters at 1.31 percent nickel and 0.95 percent copper.
Sama’s share price started off the year at C$0.11 before jumping to the year-to-date high of C$0.14 on February 12.
4. FPX Nickel (TSXV:FPX)
Year-to-date gain: 13.33 percent; market cap: C$93.154 million; current share price: C$0.34
FPX Nickel is developing its flagship development-stage Baptiste nickel project in the Decar Nickel District of British Columbia. The property is host to four targets, including the Baptiste deposit and the Van target, the former of which is the company’s primary target. The company is targeting both the stainless steel and battery-grade nickel markets.
FPX Nickel is currently conducting environmental baseline activities, and preparing for a feasibility study at Baptiste. In late January, the company announced a C$14.4 million strategic investment from Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Metal Mining (TSE:5713).
The company’s stock moved from a year-to-date low of C$0.27 in mid-January to a year-to-date high of C$0.40 per share on February 5, 2024.
Through its majority-owned subsidiary CO2 Lock Corp., FPX Nickel is pursuing carbon-capture and storage technology as a means of lowering the carbon footprint associated with mining battery metals. In late February, CO2 Lock shared that it had completed the first-ever successful injection of CO 2 into a brucite-rich ultramafic mineral project as a part of a comprehensive field program at its SAM site in central BC. “This achievement marks a significant milestone in the development of CO2 Lock's innovative in-situ CO 2 mineralization technology,” stated the press release.
5. Canada Nickel (TSXV:CNC)
Year-to-date gain: 11.2 percent; market cap: C$240.572 million; current share price: C$1.39
Canada Nickel Company’s wholly-owned flagship Crawford nickel sulphide project in Ontario’s productive Timmins mining camp. A robust bankable feasibility study demonstrates large-scale nickel deposit with a mine life of 41 years, after-tax NPV of US$2.5 billion, and IRR of 17.1 percent. The company is targeting both the EV battery and stainless-steel markets.
A few big name companies hold significant ownership positions in Canada Nickel, including Agnico Eagle (TSX:AEM) which holds a 11 percent stake and Anglo American (LON:AAL) which has a 7.6 percent stake. Early this year, Samsung SDI made an equity investment of US$18.5 million for a 8.7 percent ownership stake in the company.
Canada Nickel’s share price was trading at C$1.14 before jumping to the year-to-date high of C$2.24 on January 16.
In early February, the company shared that its wholly-owned subsidiary, NetZero Metals Inc. is planning to develop a nickel processing facility and stainless-steel and alloy production facility in the Timmins Nickel District. Canada Nickel’s share price had slid to C$1.35 on February 5 before rising up to C$1.46 on February 9 following the news release.
Later in the month, Canada Nickel shared successful results from initial infill drilling at its wholly-owned Bannockburn property, and a new discovery made at the Mann property, a joint venture with Noble Mineral Exploration (TSXV:NOB) whereby Canada Nickel can earn an 80 percent interest.
FAQs for nickel investing
How to invest in nickel?
There are a variety of ways to invest in nickel, but stocks and exchange-traded products are the most common. Nickel-focused companies can be found globally on various exchanges, and through the use of a broker or a service such as an app, investors can purchase companies and products that match their investing outlook.
Before buying a nickel stock, potential investors should take time to research the companies they’re considering; they should also decide how many shares will be purchased, and what price they are willing to pay. With many options on the market, it's critical to complete due diligence before making any investment decisions.
Nickel stocks like those mentioned above could be a good option for investors interested in the space. Experienced investors can also look at nickel futures.
What is nickel used for?
Nickel has a variety of applications. Its main use is an alloy material for products such as stainless steel, and it is also used for plating metals to reduce corrosion. It is used in coins as well, such as the 5 cent nickel in the US and Canada; the US nickel is made up of 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper, while Canada's nickel has nickel plating that makes up 2 percent of its composition.
Nickel's up-and-coming use is in electric vehicles as a component of certain lithium-ion battery compositions, and it has gotten extra attention because of that purpose.
Where is nickel mined?
The world's top nickel-producing countries are primarily in Asia: Indonesia, the Philippines and New Caledonia make up the top three. Rounding out the top five are Russia and Canada. Indonesia's production stands far ahead of the rest of the pack, with 2023 output of 1.8 million MT compared to the Philippines' 400,000 MT and New Caledonia's 230,000 MT.
Significant nickel miners include Norilsk Nickel (OTC Pink:NILSY,MCX:GMKN), Nickel Asia, BHP Group (NYSE:BHP,ASX:BHP,LSE:BHP) and Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF).
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: FPX Nickel and Canada Nickel are clients of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
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