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Nickel refining, China & Indonesia
Jinchang, China38.52°N 102.19°E
computed criticality17/100
reading
China + Indonesia dominate battery-nickel refining
2024Fault line
Battery and stainless-steel nickel is increasingly refined via Chinese processes installed in Indonesia (HPAL, nickel pig iron). A Sino-Indonesian integration that crashed prices and pushed out Western producers.
↗Tightening2030
Nickel refining concentration is intensifying: Indonesia is expected to supply about 70% of refined nickel by 2030 according to the IEA, with roughly 75% of that capacity controlled by Chinese players.AIE, Global Critical Minerals Outlook, 2025 ↗
Actors
Jinchuan
Tsingshan
Huayou
Vale
Sources