The CEO of one critical mineral company says Canada provides nearly half of all nickel supplies to the U.S. and could find other trading partners if needed.
Canada Nickel Company CEO Mark Selby said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg Wednesday that some of the primary uses of Nickel include stainless steel alloys, EV production as well as defence and aerospace. Selby’s comments come amid a trade war between the U.S. and Canada, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatening to cease the supply of nickel and electricity to the U.S. in response to 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian products.
“Canada supplies about half of the nickel that the U.S. uses today, and we have a great big new emerging source of nickel as the primary metal in EV electric batteries. Nickel is the thing that gives cars long range, which everybody in North America would like to have in their electric vehicle,” Selby said.
He added that the U.S. may look for alternatives and turn away from Canada, given the current trade tensions.
“The good thing with critical minerals (is) because of the high value, in Canadian dollars it’s over $20,000 a ton, we can effectively ship our product anywhere in the world. So, if the U.S. doesn’t want our nickel, we can easily ship all the nickel that the Europeans can consume,” Selby said.
A report from the Ontario Mining Association and provincial government, released Tuesday, highlighted how much the province’s mining industry exports to the U.S. According to the report, the industry exported about $42 billion in minerals south of the border in 2023.
Nickel is also a critical material in the defence and aerospace industries, according to Selby.
“If you’re sitting in a plane, there’s two or three tons of nickel in every jet engine that’s there. There’s lots and lots of nickel in every fighter aircraft and all kinds of different armaments. They absolutely do not want to rely on China for that material,” he said.
“The other big producer is Russia… we’ll see where that ends up, but nickel is a critical mineral, and I’m sure he’s (U.S. President Donald Trump) getting the earful from all the defense contractors and aerospace contractors.”
