Nordic Nickel Positions to Help Fill Europe's Looming Nickel Supply Gap

• Nordic Nickel is focused on nickel exploration in Finland, with a major resource already defined at its flagship Pulju project
• Europe lacks a domestic nickel mining industry and relies heavily on imports, creating an opportunity as demand for battery metals surges
• Nordic aims to demonstrate a path to value creation through scoping/feasibility studies and seeking off-take partners to fund development
• Upcoming catalysts include metallurgical test results, new exploration data, and a 3D geological model to define drill targets
• The company is evaluating strategic options to advance projects and create shareholder value without excessive dilution

Advancing Projects in Finland for Europe's Growing Need for Nickel Supply

The urgent need for Europe to develop domestic, sustainable sources of battery metals like nickel has never been clearer. With surging electric vehicle production and new EU policies to reduce reliance on imports, miners are racing to bring on new nickel supply within the continent. One company working to fill this supply gap is Nordic Nickel (ASX:NNL).

Nordic's CEO, Todd Ross, sees a clear opportunity:

"The big message is there's two nickel mines in the whole of Europe, both of them are in Finland," he explains. "But in Finland there is the full value chain - the battery value chain already exists. You've got the mines, you've got the smelters, all of Europe's nickel refining and smelting capacity is in Finland and one in Norway."

Interview with MD & CEO Todd Ross

Europe's Nickel Dilemma

Currently, Europe imports the vast majority of its nickel. Indonesia and the Philippines alone account for over half of global supply. Much of this production has a large carbon footprint and questionable sustainability credentials. There are also growing concerns about China's dominance of the nickel market and ability to control prices and supply.

Recognizing this dilemma, the EU recently launched its Critical Raw Materials Act to spur domestic mining and refining of battery metals. The policy calls for no single country to provide over 65% of any key metal. Achieving this will require an enormous increase in European nickel output.

Tapping Finland's Mineral Wealth

While Europe overall lacks a strong nickel mining sector, Finland is a notable exception. The country hosts Europe's only two nickel mines currently in operation - Terrafame's Sotkamo mine and Boliden's Kevitsa mine.

Discoveries like Anglo American's giant Sakatti deposit, with 44 million tonnes of ore grading 1.9% copper and 1% nickel, have underscored Finland's mineral potential. Activity is picking up, but the industry is still in its early stages compared to other global nickel districts.

It's this combination of highly prospective but underexplored terrain, existing miners and smelters, and proximity to European EV manufacturers that attracted Nordic Nickel to Finland. The company's projects are located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB), home to several major nickel and copper deposits.

A Path to Production

Nordic's immediate focus is its flagship Pulju nickel project in the CLGB. The project already hosts a resource of over 400 million tonnes grading 0.21% nickel and 0.01% cobalt, for up to 1,032,000 tonnes of contained nickel and 47,000 tonnes of contained cobalt. Notably, mineralization begins at surface and has only been drilled to 300m depth so far.

To advance Pulju towards production, Nordic is working on several fronts:

• Metallurgical testing to optimize recoveries and concentrate grades, with results due mid-year
• Scoping and feasibility studies to define project economics and a development pathway
• Discussions with potential offtake and funding partners
• Regional exploration to make additional discoveries in this fertile nickel belt

Ross sums up the value proposition,

"What's really critical is to understand whether or not the nickel sits in sulfides versus in silicates - our early test work indicated that it was predominantly in sulfides which should allow it to upgrade well. The benefit of all of that is that you can potentially, even though it's low grade, upgrade that ore to a higher grade concentrate and get really good recovery."

Strategic Initiatives

While advancing Pulju, Nordic is pursuing other strategic initiatives to create value and build out its project pipeline:

• Prospect generation to acquire additional battery metal projects in Finland
• Potential spin-outs or joint ventures for non-core assets
• Selective earn-in deals on prospective third-party projects

According to Ross, this approach provides multiple paths to value creation while the company positions itself for the coming bull market in nickel:

"I don't want to be stuck on just having that one project and not having a pipeline coming through behind it. I think there's value that can be created for shareholders through building out that portfolio too."

Conclusion

While still an early-stage explorer, Nordic offers investors leveraged exposure to the themes of nickel demand growth, security of supply, and the European battery metals rush. With a large resource base, prospective land package, and active work programs, the company appears to be laying the groundwork to create value on multiple fronts. As such, Nordic may be worth a closer look for risk-tolerant investors seeking to gain exposure to the accelerating EV story.

The Investment Thesis for Nordic Nickel

• Exposure to the rapidly growing nickel market as demand from EVs accelerates
• First-mover advantage as Europe works to build a domestic nickel supply chain
• Substantial resource base in a top mining jurisdiction close to key infrastructure
• Active work programs and strategic initiatives to create value on multiple fronts
• Upcoming catalysts include metallurgy, exploration results and scoping study
• Experienced management team with strong industry relationships

Macro Thematic Analysis

The global shift towards electrification and decarbonization is creating unprecedented demand for battery metals like nickel. Nickel is a key component in the lithium-ion batteries powering the world's transition to electric vehicles.

Europe in particular faces a daunting task to secure adequate nickel supply for its aggressive EV adoption targets. The EU is aiming for 30 million zero-emission cars by 2030 and a complete phaseout of internal combustion engines by 2035. Meeting this demand will require a more than tenfold increase in Europe's nickel consumption over the next decade.

However, Europe currently has very limited domestic nickel production, leaving it heavily reliant on imports from countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia. Not only does this create risks around security of supply, but much of this nickel is produced with coal power, undercutting Europe's net-zero emissions goals.

To address these challenges, the EU is rushing to implement policies aimed at spurring local production of battery metals. Its new Critical Raw Materials Act calls for increasing domestic nickel supply to 40% of consumption by 2030. Brussels is backing this up with large investment funds and streamlined permitting for mining projects.

This combination of skyrocketing nickel demand and concerted policy support has ignited a race among miners to launch new nickel operations within Europe's borders.

According to Nordic Nickel CEO Todd Ross:

"All of the funds have a mandate to some extent to support scoping study, feasibility study stage projects. The big challenge is, Europe has basically moved away from development of a critical minerals exploration industry for the last 50 years. An exploration industry is really in its early stages - and that needs the boost. There's not just a plethora of projects sitting there ready to be turned on."

As the European EV revolution accelerates, companies like Nordic Nickel that can help fill the continent's looming nickel supply gap look well positioned for growth.