The Baptiste pit-constrained resource estimate includes 1.82 billion tonnes of indicated resources grading 0.211% total nickel.

Indonesia is keen to develop its own EV and battery industries at home, after banning exports of nickel ore to ensure supply for investors since 2020.

The metal price jumped by its 15% daily limit after an unconfirmed report about a blast at a nickel plant in Indonesia.

Company has said it wants to build a gigafactory in western Europe and one in eastern Europe.

The Indonesia Battery Corporation plans to produce 50,000 battery packs for two-wheelers next year.

The metals industry has spent weeks debating what to do about supplies from Russia, which is a major producer of copper, nickel, aluminum and palladium.

Chinese firms have been involved in 89 announced acquisitions and investments in Canadian metals and mining companies in the past decade, according to Bloomberg data.

GM is investing $35 billion to make its lineup fully electric by 2035, while Ford is plowing $50 billion.