Global miner BHP plans to expand nickel output amid battery boom (Reuters U.S. – May 21, 2019)

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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Global miner BHP Group on Wednesday said it plans to expand its nickel sulphide operations amid an expected boom in demand for the material in electric vehicle batteries.

But the company is not looking to produce main battery ingredient lithium as it sees such output having slimmer profits.

Speaking at a strategy briefing on long-term asset allocation, BHP Chief Financial Officer Peter Beaven said growth in nickel could come from either exploration or acquisitions.

“We are interested in adding more nickel sulphide resources to our portfolio, so we should continue to add exploration options in these areas,” he said.

“We do not need to do M&A, but we never discount it as a way to acquire great resource bases.”

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