May 21, 2019 Guest(s): Alex Laugharne Principal Consultant, CRU Group
In the next five to ten years, the electric vehicle (EV) revolution will likely dominate the nickel space and will be sending prices much higher, this according to Alex Laugharne, principal consultant of CRU Group.
Laugharne said that nickel sulfide producers and the metallurgical laterite producers, who are most closely linked to EVs, are undergoing technological changes that may leave a supply gap in the nickel market.
"I think you're seeing a lot of people being hesitant to invest in new supply in the space because of this potential latent capacity. If they do encounter technical difficulties, may fail to materialize, and in that scenario, we may end up with a real crunch that could cause nickel prices, and in particular, nickel sulfide prices, or pure nickel prices to go through the roof," he told Kitco News on the sidelines of the Mines and Money New York conference.