Price surge sees nickel mining industry in Australia rebound

SYDNEY, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A recent jump in the price of nickel has reinvigorated the industry in Australia with the Avebury nickel mine set to reopen on the island state of Tasmania.

Mining company Dundas purchased the mine, which has been inoperative since 2009, for 18.6 million U.S. dollars in 2017, in which time the value of nickel has doubled.

"One of the drivers of the rising price is the fact that its a key component of batteries, and battery related metals have been very much in demand," CMC markets' chief market strategist Michael McCarthy told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Many of those batteries will be fuelling Chinese electric cars, BHP Nickel West President Eduard Haegel explained to local media recently, "we've seen quite an explosion for, particularly (nickel) powder into China."

With new energy vehicles expected to account for 10 percent of China's car sales by the end of the decade, a number of Australian and international companies are expanding nickel mining operations to meet the demand.