War in Ukraine: From New Caledonia to Siberia, the nickel sector is losing its nerves of steel


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War between Ukraine and Russiacase

After smashing its price record and seeing its listing suspended in London, this metal used on a daily basis is scrutinized by manufacturers, financial markets and producing countries.

In the outbreak of raw material price records broken in recent weeks, nickel has not done things by halves. The prices of this metal, present everywhere in our daily lives, indeed exploded to more than 100,000 dollars (92,000 euros) per ton on Monday, leading to suspensions of trading, concerns for industrialists and panic in a Chinese multi-billion dollar firm. . Throwback to the crazy week of this raw material.

Nickel is not just 28th position in Mendeleïev’s table, which all French people have seen enthroned above their heads during their physics and chemistry lessons. Used to make certain coins or for aircraft maintenance, this metal is above all a component of stainless steel (72% of its use according to the Nickel Institute), which is found both in the structure of the ‘Empire State Building, New York, that in nuclear power plants and hydroelectric dam turbines, weather-resistant stainless steel…



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