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Richard Matheson

Where is your

nickel going?

he nickel industry’s leading advocacy assisting all of those processes, so there However, Matheson said traditional
Torganisation is ramping up its edu- should be, and there is, a fantastic mar- markets could not be discounted, high-
cation around the challenges the metal ket for nickel. The problem is, of course, lighting the continued growth of nickel-
faces in key markets such as China and that we face headwinds in the market. containing stainless steel in India.
India. “These threats to the opportunities “We spent 15 years trying to convince
Richard Matheson, director of market that are there prevent us from meeting India to use nickel-containing stainless
development at the Nickel Institute, said our potential. And those threats, from a steel in its train systems,” he said.
the organisation’s mission was to pro- market development perspective, are “In 2002 we were successful for the
mote and support the “appropriate use” very clear. The largest of them is the per- first time when the Delhi Metro went to
of nickel in both new and existing market ception of high cost.” a nickel-containing 300 Series. Several
applications. According to the Nickel Institute, food other train systems in India also started
However, according to Matheson, not content applications and process engi- to look at stainless steel.
everyone understands the threats posed neering were the leading two end-user “By 2012, we were producing a few
to these opportunities. markets for nickel in 2018, both with a hundred to a thousand or so trains and
“We’re urbanising a population roughly 27% share of the metal’s final destina- we have added about $US15 million a
1.5 times the size of the United States tion. year in nickel just in this sector alone.
by 2050 – massive migrations of people Nickel-based batteries for input into “Our spend in India each year is now
requiring more housing, more buildings, new technologies such as EVs has been about $US60,000 and this is just one
more energy, more mobility, more food one of the most discussed topics for the project that we are tackling. So, while
and more clean water – and all of that sector over the past two years. As such, we’re looking over our shoulders to de-
has to be done in a sustainable way,” he the Nickel Institute is starting to build up termine what is happening, this is the gift
said. its expertise around this emerging mar- that keeps on giving.”
“Nickel’s properties are excellent for ket.
– Michael Washbourne

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