This is an article on Friedland's thoughts on copper plus...

This is an article on Friedland's thoughts on copper plus battery metals from June 2023. States copper could go up 10-fold, metals in short supply just as mining co valuations low etc etc. If he thinks copper will surge, you can be pretty sure he thinks Nickel will do OK. Both have very broad end-uses, and there is no way that if copper surges two-fold (never mind ten-fold) then Nickel is going through the floor. I think he is prone to hyperbole and likes to make headlines. Sometimes they conflict, and I would suggest the article below is suggestive of a reasonable future for Nickel. Certainly, the fact that Europe (and we know also about the US) have it or are considering it for their critical minerals list, suggests it is in abundant supply in Western markets

New York | Copper is poised to follow other commodities upended by recent price surges as the mining industry struggles to expand ahead of accelerating demand, warns the man behind some of the world’s biggest mines.Demand for critical raw materials is set to jump as nations mandate clean energy and transport while clambering to develop their own supply chains. But a combination of factors suggests supply will not keep pace, according to billionaire Robert Friedland.Investors have yet to grasp the significance of a global rush for the building blocks of clean energy, including copper, Robert Friedland says. BloombergThey include the fact that deposits are getting pricier and harder to find and dig up, funding is scarce and societies have yet to grasp mining’s role in the shift from fossil fuels.“We’re heading for a train wreck here,” the founder and executive co-chairman of Ivanhoe Mines said. “My fear is that when push finally comes to shove”, copper can go up 10 times.Mr Friedland, who made his fortune from Canadian nickel and is behind massive copper finds in Mongolia and the Congo, has long championed the importance of the metal used in everything from wires to weaponry. Some analysts share his concern about a looming copper crunch, but consensus is for far more gradual price gains in the coming years.

Futures are down 10 per cent from a January peak as an uneven post-pandemic recovery in China, the world’s biggest metals consumer, and inflation-fighting efforts by central banks restrains demand.Still, Mr Friedland sees copper’s longer-term prospects supported by decarbonisation, ongoing Chinese demand, the emergence of India, and remilitarisation after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Chilean output plateauOn the supply side, output in top producer Chile has plateaued as ore quality deteriorates. The industry in general is having to dig deeper and contend with an increase in resource nationalism and far more stringent environmental and social standards.Investors had yet to grasp the significance of a global rush for the building blocks of clean energy, Mr Friedland said. He pointed to very low physical inventories of copper coinciding with historically low relative valuations of mining companies.Large premiums paid in recent acquisitions indicated the mining industry understood where the market was headed, he said, although consolidation would not solve the dilemma of how to boost production.Mr Friedland points to other commodities as examples of what may be in store for a tightening copper market. Chinese spot prices of molybdenum doubled from August to February amid supply disruptions and growing demand from the renewables and military sectors. One gauge of semi-processed lithium shot up 422 per cent in 2021.“When metals are required, the prices go crazy and nobody’s willing to sell them,” he said. “We’re heading into that sort of situation.”Ivanhoe, BlackRock and BHPThe 72-year-old magnate is making his latest mining bet on the US. Ivanhoe Electric, which has BlackRock and BHP Group as investors, is exploring in Arizona when the US is starting to realise the importance of domestic sources of raw materials and supply chains for greening the economy.China is a dominant player in processing of nickel, copper, cobalt and other resources that are key to economic growth and clean-energy technologies. With initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act, the US is seeking to curtail global dependence on China as competition between the two nations increases.The European Union has already proposed classifying copper and nickel as critical raw materials in legislation designed to bolster supplies, alongside other metals key to the energy transition.“Europe is in a panic about where their raw material is going to come from,” Mr Friedland said. “The US is in a panic about where their raw material is going to come from. And so we’re going to see a lot of volatility and change in the way our supply chain is organised.”