@AverageJoe
Mate I have been investing and trading a little in battery materials for just over 4 years now.
The initial battery materials focus really ignored nickel and cobalt.
It was all about lithium, the market became aware of lithium shortages and because the batteries are called lithium iron batteries that's all people ever knew and focused on. IMO
Hence Lithium mines got focus and now those projects are coming online.
The market has now focused on cobalt primarily, because all you hear is DRC, cobalt shortages, blood cobalt in a very unsavory part of the world where human rights are now only getting some attention.
There is a little talk about nickel. Nickel is just nickel to most people/ investors, do not understand the difference between Class 1 and Class 2, That Class 1 nickel is not easily available, produces the best grade nickel sulfate and is the battery material of choice, and is very expensive to produce.
Limited in supply and the process of manufacturing nickel sulfate takes huge capex, and long lead times to produce the plant that is capable of production. It is a chemical process.
Currently everyone thinks nickel is nickel and its not, you cannot look at global nickel production and assume battery grade nickel is in the same league, its not.
This will change and must happen soon.
RED
