Supply is expected to outflank demand over the short term, but the longer-term outlook for the metal is strong. Demand from the electric vehicle (EV) industry is one reason nickel's outlook looks bright further into the future.
Battery nickel demand is poised to triple by 2030, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
“Mid and high level performance EVs will be the primary driver of battery nickel demand growth in the coming years, particularly in Western markets,” said Jorge Uzcategui, senior nickel analyst at the firm.
“There will be growth in China, but it won’t be as pronounced as in ex-China markets.”
As for Canada, nickel is listed as a top priority in the government's Critical Minerals Strategy. The country is the world's fifth largest producer of nickel, with much of its production coming from mines in Ontario's Sudbury Basin, including Vale’s (NYSE:VALE) Sudbury operation and Glencore's (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations.
How have Canadian nickel stocks performed in 2025? Below are the top nickel stocks in Canada on the TSX, TSXV and CSE by share price performance so far this year.
All year-to-date and share price data was obtained on March 26, 2025, using TradingView’s stock screener. Canadian nickel stocks with market caps above C$10 million at that time were considered.
Year-to-date gain: 40.37 percent
Market cap: C$364.15 million
Share price: C$1.53
Power Metallic Mines, formerly Power Nickel, is developing its 80 percent owned Nisk polymetallic property in Québec, Canada, which hosts high-grade nickel, copper, platinum, palladium, gold and silver mineralization. The polymetallic nature of the project is a plus for the economic case for future nickel production in a low price environment.
The company was recognized as one of 2024's top 50 performers on the TSX Venture Exchange, ranking as the top mining company and fourth overall company due to posting a 365 percent share price appreciation for the year.
Ongoing work at the Nisk project has generated positive news flow for Power Metallic in 2025. After starting the year at C$1.07, Power Metallic's share price climbed to C$1.49 by January 30 following two key announcements in late January. First, the company released drill results from the 2024 fall campaign on Nisk's Lion zone and the start of its winter 2025 drill campaign. Shortly after, it announced a new discovery 700 meters east from the Lion zone, now named the Tiger zone, which it plans to target as part of its winter drilling.
From there, Power Metallic’s share price jumped more than 26 percent to reach C$1.88 on February 6, its highest point of Q1. This followed further drill results out its 2024 fall campaign with with notable assays further demonstrating the high-grade nature of the mineralization.
Other notable news supporting the company's share price this quarter included the closing of a C$50 million private placement and the plan to scale up its 2025 winter drill campaign from three to six rigs in the second quarter. Additionally, further results from the 2024 fall campaign expanded the Lion zone with the deepest assayed intersection to date, plus initial nickel-copper assays from the new Tiger zone.
Year-to-date gain: 25.93 percent
Market cap: C$273.59 million
Share price: C$1.70
Magna Mining is a base metal exploration and development company based in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The company’s flagship assets are the Shakespeare mine and the Crean Hill project. Shakespeare is a past-producing nickel, copper and platinum group metals mine with major permits in place. It hosts an indicated open-pit resource of 16.51 million metric tons at 0.56 percent nickel equivalent. Crean Hill also hosts a past-producing mine that produced the same resources.
Magna Mining was also included in the 2025 TSX Venture 50 list.
Last year, Magna signed a definitive offtake agreement with Vale Base Metals' wholly owned subsidiary Vale Canada for the advanced exploration portion of Crean Hill, and inked a toll-milling agreement with Glencore Canada for the surface bulk sample of the 109 Footwall zone at Crean Hill. Magna completed an updated preliminary economic assessment at Crean Hill in November.
Magna's share price started off the year at C$1.42, and gradually climbed throughout the following weeks to reach a year-to-date high of C$1.84 on February 5.
Its share price was supported by continued positive updates on its acquisition of a portfolio of base metals assets located in the Sudbury Basin, including the producing McCreedy West copper-nickel mine, through a share purchase agreement with a subsidiary of KGHM Polska Miedz (FWB:KGHA). The company completed the acquisition at the end of February.
Magna also closed a C$33.5 million private placement in early March.
Year-to-date gain: 23.53 percent
Market cap: C$79.45 million
Share price: C$0.105
Talon Metals is focused on developing high-grade nickel resources for the US domestic battery supply chain. The company has partnered with mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) on the Tamarack nickel-copper project located in Minnesota, US. Talon has an earn-in right to acquire up to 60 percent of Tamarack and currently owns 51 percent. The US Department of Defense awarded Talon a US$20.6 million grant in September 2023.
An environmental review process is underway for the proposed Tamarack underground mine. The company plans to process ore from the mine at a proposed battery mineral processing facility in North Dakota. The company plans to initiate the permitting process for the processing facility in 2025.
Talon has a six year offtake agreement with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) for a total of 75,000 metric tons, or 165 million pounds, of nickel concentrate, as well as cobalt and iron by-products, from the Tamarack project once it's in commercial production.
The company is also the operator of the Boulderdash nickel-copper discovery and numerous high-grade nickel-copper prospects in Michigan, which it optioned to Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) in early March.
Talon Metal’s share price reached a year-to-date high of C$0.105 on March 26. That day, the company announced a significant massive sulfide discovery at Tamarack with an intercept measuring over 8.25 meters logged as 95 percent sulfide content.
Year-to-date gain: 16.67 percent
Market cap: C$32.61 million
Share price: C$0.14
Stillwater Critical Metals’ flagship asset is its Stillwater West polymetallic project in Montana, US. In addition to the platinum group elements, copper, cobalt, and gold resources identified on the property, a January 2023 NI 43-101 inferred mineral resource estimate on Stillwater West shows it to have the largest nickel resource in an active US mining district.
Stillwater Critical Metal’s share price reached a year-to-date high of C$0.14 on March 26.
On this day, the company reported multiple large-scale magmatic sulfide targets following analysis of the property-wide third-party MobileMtm magneto-telluric geophysical survey completed in late 2024.
The data from the survey was also used to build a new 3D geological model of the lower Stillwater Igneous Complex that will help the company to further prioritize targets at Stillwater West in an upcoming planned drill campaign.
Year-to-date gain: 15.22 percent
Market cap: C$25.22 million
Share price: C$0.265
First Atlantic Nickel is developing its wholly owned Atlantic nickel project in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The large-scale project hosts a naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy that contains about 75 percent nickel with no sulfur or sulfides. Known as awaruite, it is known for its strong magnetic properties. Its also easier and cleaner to separate and concentrate than conventional nickel ores as it can be processed without a smelter.
A series of catalysts in February gave the company’s stock value a boost to the upside. On February 19, it shared that drilling confirmed "the RPM zone extends 400 meters along strike and 500 meters wide, remaining open at depth and along strike to the north and west, indicating significant expansion potential."
Initial Phase 1 assay results from the Super Gulp zone were released on February 26 showing up to 0.32 percent nickel with an average of 0.25 percent nickel over the entire 293.8 meter length. First Atlantic Nickel stated the results confirmed "the presence of a major new nickel zone." That same day, shares in First Atlantic surged to C$0.33.
The next month, on March 4, First Atlantic reported a new discovery at the RPM zone with intersects of 0.24 percent nickel over 383.1 meters, and 10 kilometers downstrike from Super Gulp.
First Atlantic shares reached their highest year-to-date value of C$0.35 on March 13 after the company announced initial metallurgical test results from the first drill hole at the RPM zone. The company said “the results confirm the potential for magnetic separation as a viable processing method for awaruite nickel mineralization previously identified at the RPM Zone.”
FAQs for nickel investing
How to invest in nickel?
There are a variety of ways to invest in nickel, but stocks and exchange-traded products are the most common. Nickel-focused companies can be found globally on various exchanges, and through the use of a broker or a service such as an app, investors can purchase companies and products that match their investing outlook.
Before buying a nickel stock, potential investors should take time to research the companies they’re considering; they should also decide how many shares will be purchased, and what price they are willing to pay. With many options on the market, it's critical to complete due diligence before making any investment decisions.
Nickel stocks like those mentioned above could be a good option for investors interested in the space. Experienced investors can also look at nickel futures.
What is nickel used for?
Nickel has a variety of applications. Its main use is an alloy material for products such as stainless steel, and it is also used for plating metals to reduce corrosion. It is used in coins as well, such as the 5 cent nickel in the US and Canada; the US nickel is made up of 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper, while Canada's nickel has nickel plating that makes up 2 percent of its composition.
Nickel's up-and-coming use is in electric vehicles as a component of certain lithium-ion battery compositions, and it has gotten extra attention because of that purpose.
Where is nickel mined?
The world's top nickel-producing countries are primarily in Asia: Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia make up the top three. Rounding out the top five are Canada and China. Indonesia's production stands far ahead of the rest of the pack, with 2024 output of 2.2 million metric tons compared to the Philippines' 330,000 metric tons and Canada's 190,000 metric tons.
Significant nickel miners include Norilsk Nickel (OTC Pink:NILSY,MCX:GMKN), Nickel Asia, BHP Group (NYSE:BHP,ASX:BHP,LSE:BHP) and Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF).
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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