DISCLOSURE: Royal Nickel Corp. paid The Mining Report to conduct, produce and distribute the following interview.
Nickel prices have been weak, but the recent Indonesian government announcement banning ore shipments outside the country may be the shock that reverses the trend. In this interview with The Mining Report, Mark Selby, senior vice president of business development for Royal Nickel Corp., walks through his analysis that indicates nickel price increases and inventory reductions are imminent, while demand continues to grow and over a quarter of global mine supply is shut in.
He considers nickel in 2014 one of the best commodity trades in a generation. To capitalize on this unique set of circumstances, Royal Nickel’s Dumont Nickel Project follows the path of other large-reserve, large-scale mines in the copper and gold sectors that have changed the mining industry and made early investors fortunes.
The Mining Report: The nickel industry has been through tectonic changes in the last 10 years, including large corporate takeovers and fundamental changes in supply available to the market. Can you summarize where the nickel industry has been and where it is going?
Mark Selby: Over the past five years, we’ve seen continued robust growth in nickel demand. Over that period, global nickel demand grew in the high single-digits, while Chinese nickel demand grew at double-digit rates.