Tesla Inc has signed its first U.S. nickel supply deal, choosing Talon Metals Corp’s Tamarack mine project in Minnesota due to plans to make the electric vehicle battery metal in a way it considers more environmentally friendly.

Tesla chairman Robyn Denholm says miners, manufacturers and governments must speed up “at an extremely fast pace” the innovation needed to transform Australia from an exporter of fossil fuels into a global new energy superpower.

The agency says nickel is enjoying strong demand from stainless steel producers, while a sustained market deficit will support higher prices up to 2025. The nickel price averaged $13 860/t in in 2020.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe says the government believes mining can go back to contributing double digits to South Africa’s GDP – but this depends on getting numerous interventions right.

Elon Musk, CEO of US electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla, has promised a “giant contract for a long period of time” to any company able to extract nickel in an efficient and environmentally sustainable manner. Nickel is a key ingredient in the batteries that power Tesla’s electric vehicles.

Our analysis of nickel discoveries has identified 50 major discoveries made from 1990 to 2019, containing 96.4 million tonnes of nickel in oxide and sulfide deposits. Three were discovered in the past decade and account for only 7% of the total nickel discovered.