Robert Friedland on EV disruption to metals demand, page-4

BHP CFO Peter Beaven: "We can, with a degree of conviction, say that adding options in copper and nickel sulphides (as opposed to laterites) are likely to be a sound investment. Demand will grow and, at the same time, new supply sources will be hard to discover and permit, and will be more expensive to develop. Grade decline is an inherent feature of the existing mines, so that just maintaining existing production capacity is a challenge.

We have options in copper and oil,but we need more. And we are interested in adding more nickel sulphide resource to our portfolio. So we should continue to add exploration options in these areas.

We do not need to do M&A. But we never discount it as a way to acquire great resource bases, especially early in the life of a project when the optionality is not necessarily fully understood or valued.”

Full text here: https://www.bhp.com/media-and-insights/reports-and-presentations/2019/05/strategy-briefing

Obviously BHP is NOT going to make a bid for CZ or OZL for that matterI!!! But you get the picture regarding nickel sulphide. OTOH, could OZL buy out CZI?

And here's Reuters' take:

"Miners of nickel sulphide in Western Australia that could feed BHP’s operations, as well as being potential takeover targets, include Western Areas Ltd, Independence Group ,Panoramic Resources, Mincor and Cassini Resources Ltd."

https://uk.reuters.com/article/mining-bhp-batteries/update-1-global-miner-bhp-plans-to-expand-nickel-output-amid-battery-boom-idUKL4N22Y00T