Canada Nickel Company CEO Mark Selby says Canada supplies half of US nickel but can find new buyers if trade tensions escalate
Canada supplies nearly half of the nickel used in the US and could seek alternative trading partners if necessary, according to Canada Nickel Company CEO Mark Selby.
In an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Wednesday, Selby highlighted nickel’s importance in stainless steel alloys, electric vehicle (EV) production, and the defence and aerospace industries.
His comments come amid escalating trade tensions between Canada and the US.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has threatened to halt nickel and electricity exports in response to 25 percent tariffs imposed on Canadian products.
“Canada supplies about half of the nickel that the US uses today, and we have a great big new emerging source of nickel as the primary metal in EV electric batteries,” Selby said.
“Nickel is the thing that gives cars long range, which everybody in North America would like to have in their electric vehicle.”
Selby noted that the US might explore other sources of nickel due to the ongoing trade dispute. However, he pointed out that Canada has the flexibility to find new markets.
“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,” he said.
“So, if the US doesn’t want our nickel, we can easily ship all the nickel that the Europeans can consume.”
A report from the Ontario Mining Association and the provincial government, released Tuesday, detailed Canada’s mineral exports to the US.
The report stated that in 2023, Ontario’s mining sector exported approximately $42bn in minerals to the US.
Nickel remains a crucial material in the defence and aerospace sectors, 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,” he said. “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 also pointed to geopolitical concerns affecting supply. “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 (US President Donald Trump) getting the earful from all the defense contractors and aerospace contractors,” Selby said.
