The Conversation (0)
Top 5 ASX Nickel Stocks (Updated December 2022)
Dec. 21, 2022 01:50PM PST
Here's an overview of the top nickel stocks on the ASX with year-to-date gains in 2022.
Nuttawut UttamaharadNuttawut Uttamaharad / Shutterstock
With its diverse applications in both technology and industry, nickel is a metal that will never go out of style.
Nickel is commonly used in alloys to create stainless steel, but more recently has found a modern use: batteries. With the rising trend of electric vehicles, the base metal is in high demand for its role in the production of lithium-ion batteries.
After a dip in the first quarter of 2020, nickel prices have risen significantly over the last two years. Prices surpassed the US$100,000 per tonne point in March of this year, prompting the suspension of trading on the London Metal Exchange. While nickel trading resumed in mid-March, prices deflated, nearing the US$20,000 mark in July. With the end of the year drawing close, China has let up on its zero-COVID policy, a move that has given the base metal a boost to the US30,000 level.
Looking ahead, continued demand for stainless steel and rising usage in the lithium-ion battery sector are expected to drive nickel prices over the next decade and beyond. With nickel's bright future in mind, the Investing News Network has listed the top nickel stocks on the ASX by year-to-date gains. Data for this list was gathered using TradingView's stock screener on December 12, 2022, and the companies included had market caps above AU$50 million at that time. Read on to learn more about them.
1. Galileo MiningÂ
Year-to-date gain: 325 percent; market cap: AU$173.9 million; current share price: AU$0.96
Galileo Mining (ASX:GAL) is a base metals miner based out of Australia. The company wholly owns the nickel-copper-cobalt Norseman project, which is located outside the town of Norseman in Western Australia. Galileo Mining is also exploring for large-scale magmatic nickel-copper deposits in the Fraser Range via a joint venture with Creasy Group.
On May 11, the company made a significant palladium-platinum-copper-nickel sulphide discovery at Norseman. More recently, on December 12, diamond drill assays showed the project's highest grades of nickel and copper from disseminated sulphides to date, with 1.58 percent nickel, 0.93 percent copper and 3.32 grams per tonne 3E — palladium, platinum and gold — over 1 metre.
2. Ardea Resources
Year-to-date gain: 89.13 percent; market cap: AU$146.64 million: current share price: AU$0.87
Battery metals company Ardea Resources (ASX:ARL) has a large portfolio of Western Australia-based projects containing nickel, cobalt and rare earths. Among others, the company is developing the Kalgoorlie nickel project, which includes the Goongarrie hub, a series of nickel-cobalt and critical minerals deposits. Ardea says this project hosts the largest nickel-cobalt resource in the developed world, with 830 million tonnes at 0.71 percent nickel and 0.046 percent cobalt; that equates to 5.9 million tonnes of contained nickel and 380,000 tonnes of contained cobalt.
During Ardea's ongoing prefeasibility study (PFS) at Kalgoorlie, bench-scale metallurgical work led to a major flowsheet refinement that will significantly upgrade the PFS flowsheet. The company is targeting completion of all PFS work in Q1 2023.
3. Lunnon Metals
Year-to-date gain: 85.58 percent; market cap: AU$191.11 million; current share price: AU$0.96
Exploration company Lunnon Metals (ASX:LM8) owns what it describes as a highly prospective nickel-gold project in Western Australia's Kambalda nickel district, which has produced more than 1.6 million tonnes of nickel since its discovery in 1966.
Lunnon's exploration success in 2022 culminated in a new mineral resource estimate for the Baker deposit; the company delineated 929,000 tonnes at 3.3 percent nickel for 30,800 contained nickel tonnes. This new figure brings the total mineral resource estimate for Kambalda to 2.6 million tonnes at 3.1 percent nickel for 79,300 contained nickel tonnes. This represents a 23 percent increase in contained metal since June 2022.
4. Widgie Nickel
Year-to-date gain: 55.1 percent; market cap: AU$91.37 million; current share price: AU$0.38
According to Widgie Nickel, its Mount Edwards project encompasses 240 square kilometres of highly prospective nickel prospects within Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields nickel sulphide belt.
Widgie listed on the ASX in September 2021, and Armstrong is set to be its first production-ready deposit. The company's latest quarterly report, released in September, indicates that a final feasibility study is due for completion by the end of 2022. The report also highlights the confirmation of resource growth potential at the Gillett deposit and Gillett North prospect, along with a high-grade lithium discovery that the company made at Mount Edwards in early October.
5. GME Resources
Year-to-date gain: 52.54 percent; market cap: AU$59.75 million; current share price: AU$0.09
GME Resources (ASX:GME) is an explorer and developer based out of Western Australia. GME currently owns 100 percent of the NiWest nickel-cobalt project. The company claims that its project, which is located beside Glencore’s (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) Murrin Murrin nickel-cobalt mine, is "one of the largest and highest quality undeveloped nickel/cobalt resources in Australia."
In April, the company began a program to update the PFS for NiWest, as the current 2018 version doesn't take nickel and cobalt price changes into account. A bulk sample collection and sonic metallurgical drilling program were initiated on the project in November. Results are expected in the first quarter of 2023.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
From Your Site Articles
- Top 8 ASX Battery Metals Stocks of 2022 ›
- ASX Nickel Stocks: 5 Biggest Companies in 2022 ›
- 12 Biggest ASX Battery Metals Stocks in 2022 - Investing News ... ›
- Nickel Stocks in Western Australia | INN - Investing News Australia ›
- Pivotal Metals (ASX:PVT) Investor Overview - Investing News Australia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
https://twitter.com/INN_Resource
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-pistilli-865271a9/
mpistilli@investingnews.com
