Nickel prices have increased recently, from $15,390/ton in end-May 2025 to $16,750 in end-December 2025 and $19,635/ton last May 5. The all-time high price of nickel was $48,226 on March 07, 2022 mainly because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the latter is a major producer of high-grade nickel. As discussed in Part 1 of this column, the Philippines is the second largest producer of nickel ore in the world after Indonesia, with an output of 330,000 tons in 2024. The country’s estimated nickel reserves is 4.8 million tons, so the reserves/production (R/P) ratio is only 15 years for the Philippines, 25 years for ... (full story)