The Minerals Council of Australia, the country’s major mining association, wouldn’t support the formation of supply-constricting cartels, according to Chief Executive Officer Tania Constable.
It’s “very useful that countries work together to solve the problems that we have around the supply of critical minerals,” she said. However, “we’ll always be mindful we are meeting all our international trade obligations, and you don’t see cartels forming,” Constable said.
Indonesia is the biggest producer of nickel by a wide margin and is home to around 20% of the world’s deposits of the metal, US Geological Survey data show. Australia has a similar level of reserves but less than a fifth of the output of its neighbor.
Jakarta’s proposal on nickel — used for electric vehicle batteries — fits with Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s strategy of the nation becoming a hub for more refining of metals and even…
