Top 10 Nickel Mining Companies in 2026

Indonesia accounts for roughly 55% of global mined nickel output in 2026, yet the top 10 nickel mining companies span four continents and two fundamentally different ore types — sulphide and laterite — with sharply different implications for battery supply chains. This ranking covers the companies moving the most nickel tonnage, with processing capability and reserve depth as secondary criteria.

How We Ranked the Top 10 Nickel Mining Companies

Primary criterion is annual mine production volume, expressed in thousand tonnes of contained nickel (kt Ni), using USGS Mineral Resources Program data and company-reported figures for 2024–2025. Where company figures and USGS estimates diverge, both are noted. Processing capability — specifically whether a company produces Class 1 refined nickel (≥99.8% purity, LME-deliverable) or Class 2 ferronickel and nickel pig iron — is applied as a secondary criterion given its direct relevance to battery-grade supply. Reserve size informs long-term position where output data is comparable between entries.

1. Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) — Russia (MCX: GMKN)

Nornickel remains the world’s largest producer of refined nickel and the largest single source of Class 1 battery-grade nickel sulphate feedstock, with 2024 refined nickel output of approximately 193,000 tonnes — confirmed in company reports. Its Taimyr and Kola Peninsula operations process sulphide ore, giving Nornickel a structural cost advantage in reaching battery-grade purity versus laterite-based competitors.

The critical caveat in 2026: western offtake has been substantially redirected following sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. European and North American battery manufacturers have largely moved away from Russian-origin nickel, though LME warehouse stocks of Nornickel-branded material remain a contested topic — the LME’s 2023 review of Russian metal on warrant has not resulted in delisting. Nornickel nickel continues to trade and is LME-deliverable, but procurement risk for western OEMs is real. Estimated western-accessible supply from Nornickel has declined materially since 2022; buyers operating under OFAC guidance or EU sanctions compliance frameworks should verify sourcing eligibility independently.

2. Vale Base Metals — Brazil / Canada (NYSE: VALE)

Vale produced approximately 160,000 tonnes of nickel in 2024 across its Brazilian and Canadian operations, confirmed in annual reports. Its Sudbury and Voisey’s Bay assets in Canada are sulphide deposits producing Class 1 nickel, making Vale a key supplier to western battery supply chains. The Onça Puma ferronickel operation in Brazil is a laterite asset producing Class 2 product for the stainless steel market.

Vale’s 2026 focus centres on expanding battery materials output — the company has announced targets to increase nickel sulphate production through its PTVI stake and Canadian refining capacity. The Base Metals carve-out, partly sold to Saudi Arabia’s Manara Minerals and Engine No. 1, has given Vale dedicated capital for battery materials investment. Voisey’s Bay underground expansion is producing at target rates. Key risk: Brazilian laterite assets carry higher processing costs, and the Sudbury basin faces ongoing grade decline.

3. Tsingshan Holding Group — China / Indonesia (Private)

Tsingshan is the largest single operator in Indonesian nickel processing and a dominant force in global Class 2 output — nickel pig iron (NPI) and ferronickel for stainless steel. Estimated nickel output from Indonesian operations exceeds 600,000 tonnes on an NPI basis (nickel content basis: approximately 70,000–80,000 kt Ni estimated, subject to significant uncertainty given limited public disclosure). Tsingshan is privately held and does not publish production figures.

Tsingshan’s strategic importance goes beyond output volume: the company’s 2021 announcement of a process to convert NPI to nickel matte — and ultimately to battery-grade nickel sulphate — reshaped the global nickel price. Its Morowali Industrial Park in Central Sulawesi, developed under an Indonesian government partnership, hosts multiple smelting lines, HPAL facilities, and stainless steel production. Chinese ownership is direct: Tsingshan is a Wenzhou-based private conglomerate. Western battery supply chains have largely not sourced from Tsingshan-origin material given supply chain due diligence requirements and traceability concerns. Laterite ore type; all processing in-country under Indonesia’s 2020 ore export ban.

4. Glencore — Switzerland / Global (LSE: GLEN)

Glencore produced approximately 96,000 tonnes of nickel in 2024 (company-reported, confirmed). Key assets include Koniambo in New Caledonia (ferronickel — currently in care and maintenance following suspension in 2024), Murrin Murrin in Western Australia (laterite, HPAL process, Class 1 nickel), and the Integrated Nickel Operations (INO) in Sudbury, Canada — a sulphide operation producing Class 1 material. Ragglan in Quebec adds sulphide feed.

The Koniambo suspension is material: the operation accounted for a significant share of Glencore’s nickel output, and its care-and-maintenance status reflects the economics of New Caledonia’s laterite deposits at current nickel prices. Glencore’s Canadian sulphide assets remain strategically valuable for western battery chains. Glencore also markets third-party nickel, giving it market intelligence and offtake reach beyond its equity production.

5. PT Vale Indonesia — Indonesia (IDX: INCO)

PT Vale Indonesia is the oldest and most established nickel mining operation in Indonesia, producing nickel matte at its Sorowako operation in South Sulawesi since 1978. 2024 output was approximately 28,000 tonnes of nickel in matte (company-reported). PT Vale is majority-owned by Vale (33.9%), with significant Indonesian state interests — MIND ID holds 20% and Inalum holds an additional stake. The ownership structure is more transparent than some Indonesian peers, though Chinese JV involvement is present through the Pomalaa HPAL project developed with Huayou Cobalt.

Ore type is laterite; matte production is an intermediate Class 1 precursor requiring further refining. The Pomalaa High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) project, developed with Vale and Huayou, is designed to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) for battery-grade nickel sulphate. PT Vale’s position in the Indonesian nickel supply chain is significant given its non-Chinese anchor ownership and longer compliance history — relevant for western battery purchasers trying to source Indonesian material with cleaner provenance.

6. Wyloo Metals / BHP Nickel West — Australia

BHP Nickel West (ASX: BHP) produced approximately 82,000 tonnes of nickel in FY2024 from its integrated Western Australian sulphide operations: Leinster, Mount Keith, Cliffs, and Kambalda concentrators feeding the Kalgoorlie smelter and Kwinana refinery. Nickel West produces Class 1 refined nickel and nickel sulphate directly, making it a premium western battery-supply-chain asset. However, BHP announced the suspension of Nickel West in October 2024, citing sustained low nickel prices and Indonesian competition.

The suspension is a significant development for the top 10 nickel mining companies landscape: Nickel West’s Class 1 sulphide output exiting the market removes one of the few scalable western sources of battery-grade nickel sulphate. BHP has signalled the operation could restart if prices recover — a LME cash price above approximately $18,000/t is widely cited as a threshold. Australia’s nickel sector faces structural pressure from Indonesian laterite competition. Wyloo Metals, which holds exploration tenements in the Pilbara, is a separate private entity — included here as a watch-list entry for its Nova-Bollinger style sulphide prospectivity rather than current output.

7. Harita Nickel — Indonesia (IDX: NCKL)

Harita Nickel (PT Trimegah Bangun Persada) listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2023 and operates the Obi Island HPAL facility in North Maluku — one of the first large-scale Indonesian HPAL projects to reach commercial production. 2024 MHP output was approximately 36,000 tonnes (nickel content approximately 14,000 kt Ni, estimated). Harita is majority Indonesian-owned, though Chinese technology partnerships (Lygend Resources, a Huayou Cobalt affiliate) provide process engineering and offtake.

The Obi Island project is the template for Indonesian HPAL commercialisation: laterite ore, HPAL processing to MHP, targeting battery-grade nickel sulphate end-use. Processing costs at HPAL scale remain higher than sulphide routes, though Harita and peers have demonstrated that laterite-to-battery-grade conversion is technically viable at scale. Supply chain due diligence on Chinese technology JV structures remains a challenge for western purchasers. Output is growing; Harita is a material new entrant to the Class 1 supply landscape.

8. IGO Limited — Australia (ASX: IGO)

IGO is a mid-tier Australian miner with a 30% stake in the Nickel West downstream refining joint venture with BHP — specifically the Kwinana nickel sulphate refinery — alongside its equity interest in the Nova nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide operation in Western Australia. Nova produced approximately 22,000 tonnes of nickel in FY2024 (confirmed, company-reported), with the operation feeding the BHP Nickel West processing chain.

Nova is a high-grade sulphide deposit (approximately 1.1% Ni) with a defined mine life now in its final years; IGO has flagged the need to identify replacement feed or downstream uses for its refinery stake. The BHP Nickel West suspension directly affects IGO’s processing revenue. IGO’s lithium JV (Greenbushes spodumene, via its stake in Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia) diversifies its battery materials exposure. Nickel output is declining as Nova approaches end of mine life — a known transition risk.

9. Sumitomo Metal Mining — Japan (TYO: 5713)

Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) produces nickel primarily through its Coral Bay and Taganito HPAL operations in the Philippines, with combined nickel-in-MHP output of approximately 50,000 tonnes per year (estimated, based on company guidance). SMM is one of the largest Japanese industrial groups in the critical minerals space, with integrated operations from mining through to nickel sulphate production for battery cathodes.

The Philippines operations are laterite assets, with HPAL processing producing MHP that SMM refines into battery-grade sulphate at its Japanese facilities. SMM’s position as a Japanese corporate gives it a different risk profile from Chinese-affiliated Indonesian operators — relevant for Japanese OEM and battery maker supply chains (Panasonic, CATL’s Japanese JVs). SMM also holds a stake in Sierra Gorda copper-molybdenum in Chile, diversifying its battery materials exposure. Ore type: laterite; processing: HPAL to MHP then sulphate refinery.

10. Nickel Industries — Australia / Indonesia (ASX: NIC)

Nickel Industries holds equity stakes in four rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) nickel pig iron operations in Indonesia’s Morowali Industrial Park, operated by Tsingshan. 2024 nickel production (NPI basis, company share) was approximately 55,000 tonnes attributable nickel — estimated from company reports and Tsingshan operating data. Nickel Industries is ASX-listed and provides western investors with equity exposure to Indonesian NPI production.

The structure is notable: Nickel Industries is Australian-listed but its operations are Chinese-managed RKEF lines in a Tsingshan-controlled industrial park. Output is Class 2 NPI — not battery-grade. The company’s strategy acknowledges this, with stated ambitions to participate in HPAL battery-grade projects. RKEF economics are under pressure from low nickel prices and Indonesian government royalty policy changes in 2024. The Tsingshan relationship is both the source of the company’s competitive position and a concentration risk.

Top 10 Nickel Mining Companies — Summary

Indonesia’s Nickel Dominance — and the Chinese Processing Factor

Indonesia’s 2020 ban on exports of unprocessed nickel ore was the single most consequential policy decision in global nickel markets this decade. It forced all processing onshore, accelerating a wave of Chinese industrial investment that has reshaped the supply landscape. China’s position across Indonesian nickel supply chains is now deeply structural: Chinese groups — Tsingshan, Huayou Cobalt, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), and GEM — have collectively invested tens of billions of dollars in Indonesian HPAL, RKEF, and downstream battery materials processing.

The technology transfer embedded in this investment is significant. HPAL — High Pressure Acid Leach — is the process that converts laterite ore into mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), the intermediate product that can be refined into battery-grade nickel sulphate. Before Chinese investment scaled it in Indonesia, HPAL had a poor track record of cost overruns and operational failures (Murrin Murrin in Australia being the canonical example). Chinese operators have reduced HPAL capex and opex materially, though at costs that include labour practices and environmental standards that western due diligence frameworks are still grappling with.

For western battery supply chains, the consequence is a structural dependence problem: Indonesia now dominates Class 1-capable output growth, but that output is predominantly controlled by, or dependent on technology from, Chinese operators. Offtake from these projects into western OEM supply chains requires navigating the US Inflation Reduction Act’s foreign entity of concern (FEOC) provisions, which restrict battery tax credits for vehicles using materials from Chinese-affiliated sources. Named projects attempting to navigate this include PT Vale’s Pomalaa HPAL (Vale + Huayou JV structure) and Ford’s former offtake discussions with Indonesian producers — several of which were withdrawn following FEOC guidance clarification.

Class 1 vs Class 2 Nickel — Why It Matters for EV Batteries

Class 1 nickel is refined nickel of ≥99.8% purity — cathode, briquettes, powder, and nickel sulphate. It is LME-deliverable and the form required for NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) and NCA (nickel cobalt aluminium) battery cathodes. Class 2 nickel is ferronickel and nickel pig iron (NPI) — lower-purity products used overwhelmingly in stainless steel production, which accounts for approximately 70% of global nickel demand.

The distinction matters because Indonesia’s export ban triggered a surge in Class 2 NPI output — not battery-grade material — which drove the nickel price collapse of 2022–2023. LME nickel, priced on Class 1 deliverable material, fell from a post-sanctions spike above $100,000/t in March 2022 to below $14,000/t by late 2023 as Indonesian NPI flooded the stainless steel market and the Class 2 surplus overwhelmed sentiment across both grades.

Of the companies on this list, confirmed Class 1 producers include Nornickel (refined nickel), Vale (Canadian operations), Glencore (INO Sudbury, Murrin Murrin — currently suspended), BHP Nickel West (suspended), IGO (via Kwinana), and Sumitomo Metal Mining (Philippines HPAL to Japanese sulphate refinery). Indonesian HPAL projects — PT Vale Pomalaa, Harita Obi Island — produce MHP, an intermediate requiring further refining to reach Class 1 sulphate grade. Tsingshan’s RKEF output and Nickel Industries’ NPI are Class 2 only. See also the cobalt price tracker for how NMC cathode economics interact with both nickel and cobalt demand signals.

The Outlook for Nickel Mining in 2026

The nickel market entered 2026 in structural oversupply, with Indonesian output continuing to grow and western sulphide projects under sustained cost pressure. USGS Mineral Resources Program data puts global mined nickel supply at approximately 3.5 million tonnes for 2024, with Indonesian output accounting for the majority of incremental growth since 2020. Wood Mackenzie and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence have both flagged that a nickel market rebalancing requires either demand acceleration from battery sector growth (EV penetration driving NMC cathode demand) or supply curtailment from western operations that cannot sustain production at sub-$15,000/t LME prices.

The BHP Nickel West and Glencore Koniambo suspensions are the most significant western curtailments to date — together removing over 100,000 tonnes of annual capacity, largely Class 1. Whether these come back online depends on a price recovery that most analysts place in the $17,000–$20,000/t range as a minimum threshold. Indonesian output shows no structural reason to decline. The top 10 nickel mining companies in 2027 may look materially different from this list: western sulphide operators are under existential pressure, while Indonesian HPAL capacity is still being commissioned. The battery-grade nickel supply chain remains contested terrain.