Elon Musk’s nickel supply challenge for Tesla batteries answered by Canada miners

During the second quarter earnings call, Elon Musk called on miners to efficiently mine more nickel. According to Musk, nickel miners could be assured of massive contracts with Tesla, provided that their mining practices are efficient and environmentally conscious. If recent reports are any indication, it appears that a Canadian mining company has recently answered the CEO’s call. 

In a statement to Bloomberg, Toronto-based Canada Nickel Co. stated that it is poised to build a facility that has the capability to process zero carbon nickel. The need for such a product was highlighted by Canada Nickel Chief Executive Officer Mark Selby to the publication. “The electric vehicle chain and broader market in general is crying out for zero-carbon product,” he said. 

Canada Nickel’s upcoming zero carbon facility would be developed in the Timmins-Cochrane region of northern Ontario. This presents some advantages to the site, considering its proximity to hydroelectric power, which would allow the nickel provider to reduce its emissions even further. The firm is also exploring the use of serpentine rock, which naturally absorbs carbon dioxide when exposed to air. 

Considering these practices, it appears that Canada Nickel may very well have what it takes to secure a deal with the electric car maker. Tesla, after all, is still growing its business, and in its recent earnings call, Elon Musk stated that the biggest challenge for the company is still battery supply. Nickel happens to be a key component of batteries, so its supply is vital to Tesla’s expansion. 

Elon Musk, for one, emphasized that nickel based cells have higher energy density, and thus, are capable of giving more range to EVs. This would make the material incredibly valuable for the production of vehicles like the Semi and the Cybertruck, both of which would likely require massive battery packs due to their size. With the company already eliminating cobalt from its batteries, Musk stated that it’s now all about nickel.

“Well, I’d just like to re-emphasize, any mining companies out there, please mine more nickel. Okay. Wherever you are in the world, please mine more nickel and don’t wait for nickel to go back to some long — some high point that you experienced some five years ago, whatever. Go for efficiency, obviously environmentally-friendly nickel mining at high volume. Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time, if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally-sensitive way. So hopefully this message goes out to all mining companies. Please get nickel,” Musk said. 

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