The Battery Show

About The Battery Show

A Crux Investor show giving you a guide to all things battery metals with Mark Selby and other industry experts.

Publisher

Crux Investor

Category

business · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Jun 2023

Latest episode

21 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

97 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 Sept 2026

   Why Nickel's Six-Month Low Could Reverse 20-30% by Year-End

   Recording date: 20th September 2026 Mark Selby, Chairman and CEO of Canada Nickel Company, used this Battery Show appearance to argue that nickel's slide to $16,000-$17,000 a tonne — the bottom of a six-month trading range — reflects positioning around Indonesian ore export quotas rather than a genuine deterioration in fundamentals. Indonesian ore production is running below last year's pace, and the government has not confirmed whether it will approve the full requested quota or the additional top-up companies have flagged. A revised limonite ore pricing formula briefly unsettled sentiment when HPAL producers, already squeezed by high sulphur costs, proved unable to pay the new benchmark. The demand side of Selby's argument is the more striking element. Stainless steel demand, roughly two-thirds of total nickel consumption, is up 5% year to date. Nickel flowing into the battery precursor supply chain is up 35% year-over-year, a figure well ahead of the 5% EV sales growth and 12% battery-size growth typically cited, and far above the 2-3% demand growth consensus analysts assumed entering the year. Combined with global supply down 3-4%, Selby expects a 20-30% price recovery into year-end and early 2026, with the seasonal Philippine production trough adding further physical tightness through the winter months. Cobalt prices, an important HPAL byproduct credit, have eased from a Congo export-ban-driven spike near $25 a pound to around $18, with Selby expecting a further drift toward $15. The corporate round-up covers several companies exposed to the same commodity thesis. Talon Metals' high-grade Tamarack drill result — 13% nickel and 16% copper over a 750-800 metre-deep interval — draws praise as one of the best holes Selby has seen, alongside a valuation caution: the market's roughly $1.5 billion implied value is compared to Voisey's Bay and Glencore's Raglan, builds that each cost around $2.5 billion and took roughly six years to reach production. Homeland Nickel's Oregon laterite consolidation, under CEO Steve Balch, is benchmarked against Ardea Resources, Nickel 28 and the now-defunct Horizonte Minerals to illustrate relative value in the pre-resource nickel space. Magna Mining's recent financing from a South American private investor gets a brief mention as a positive funding development in the Sudbury basin. Canada Nickel's own news flow features prominently: the company's main federal permit closed at the end of July, a ninth Timmins district resource was published, infill drilling at Reed produced its best results yet, Komatsu was selected for a roughly C$1.5 billion mining fleet contract, and a $21 million financing closed at the end of August. Selby also referenced Canada's recent Investment Summit and the government's new immediate capital write-off and streamlined permitting initiatives, alongside the company's RWE Supply and Trading offtake agreement targeting European low-carbon nickel demand. Investors should weigh Selby's price and valuation commentary against independent market data, given his direct financial interest in both the commodity and several of the companies discussed. Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com

2. 

   24 Jul 2026

   Nickel Market Turns Bullish on Tight Supply and Strong Demand

   Recording date: 22nd July 2026 Canada Nickel Company (TSXV:CNC) CEO Mark Selby used this week's Battery Show appearance to lay out a market backdrop he believes is turning more favourable for nickel producers, alongside an update on his own company's flagship Crawford project. The starting point is price action. Nickel had been range-bound between US$16,000 and US$17,000 a tonne, but has broken through technical resistance following Indonesia's confirmation that it will not make major changes to its 2026 mining quotas. Selby characterises this as a genuine test of Indonesian policy resolve, following weeks of speculation — much of it from short-sellers and Chinese commentary — that Jakarta would loosen restrictions under pressure. That the quotas held, he argues, removes one of the market's clearest downside risks and should force sell-side analysts to keep revising nickel price forecasts higher through the remainder of 2026, following Bernstein's recent move to a small-deficit call for the year. On the supply side, Selby's strongest conviction is around the seasonal decline in Philippine nickel ore output, which historically halves quarter-on-quarter through the third and fourth quarters due to monsoon weather. With Chinese in-process inventories already reduced, this year's seasonal drop is expected to be felt more directly in downstream nickel pig iron and stainless steel pricing. Adding to input-cost pressure, sulphuric acid prices — relevant to HPAL processing — are rising again as conflict in the Gulf region resumes, reversing an earlier easing. Selby points to a cluster of market indicators — stainless steel, NPI, NPI-to-metal discounts and MHP premiums — all sitting only modestly below cycle highs, as evidence the physical market remains tight despite some LME inventory build. On demand, Selby sees EV-related nickel consumption growing at a mid-to-high single-digit pace as the post-2021/22 inventory destocking cycle across nickel, cobalt and lithium comes to an end — lithium prices are already up 30–40% year-to-date on restocking. He frames this as one contributor to broader industrial demand growth of roughly 7% a year since 2019, alongside defence, oil and gas, aerospace and infrastructure build-out across South Asia and the Middle East. Against that backdrop, he argues the pipeline of advanced projects capable of adding meaningful new supply outside Indonesia is thin, naming Centaurus Metals (ASX:CTM), Lifezone Metals (NYSE:LZM), Talon Metals (TSX:TLO), FPX Nickel (TSXV:FPX) and Canada Nickel as the main developers still advancing at scale. On Canada Nickel's own project, Crawford has reached its final permitting milestone: conditions have been published and sent to Canada's federal minister for a decision within 30 days, which would make it the first project permitted under the country's 2019 federal Impact Assessment Act. Selby also touched on exploration progress at First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt (TSXV:FAN) and permitting and drilling updates at Talon Metals, rounding out a week light on individual company news but heavy on macro signal, in his view. Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

3. 

   9 Jul 2026

   Short-Term Noise, Long-Term Strength: Why Nickel’s Outlook Remains Bullish

   Recording date: 7th July 2026 Nickel prices have recently weakened, pressured by a stronger US dollar and market speculation that Indonesia may expand mining quotas. However, industry insights suggest this decline reflects short-term dynamics rather than a fundamental shift in supply-demand balance. According to Canada Nickel CEO Mark Selby, the current pricing environment coincides with peak seasonal ore supply from the Philippines, a period when market participants—particularly Chinese buyers and short-sellers—may attempt to push prices lower. As supply typically tightens later in the year due to seasonal factors, Selby expects underlying fundamentals to reassert upward pressure on prices. Despite softer headline prices, several indicators point to tightening conditions within the nickel supply chain. A notable example is the drawdown of approximately 40,000 tons of nickel pig iron (NPI), which has been converted into higher-value nickel matte for battery production. This shift has reduced the historical price discount between NPI and London Metal Exchange nickel from about $250/mtu to $150/mtu, signaling stronger demand and constrained supply in certain segments. Demand for nickel in electric vehicle (EV) batteries remains a key growth driver. Year-to-date, battery-related nickel demand has risen by 37%, significantly outpacing EV sales growth of around 2%. This divergence is largely attributed to a 12% increase in average battery pack size, as consumers increasingly favor larger vehicles that require more nickel-intensive batteries. On the corporate front, Canada Nickel has signed a memorandum of understanding with German energy company RWE to develop supply chains for low-carbon nickel products targeting Europe’s steel industry. Meanwhile, peers such as Magna Mining and Sherritt International are navigating investment shifts and operational challenges. Overall, while short-term volatility persists, structural demand growth and supply constraints continue to support a constructive long-term outlook for nickel. Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Who has been a guest on The Battery Show

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Mark Selby
• Timmins
• Tim Moody
• Andy Home

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

21,013,215

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

4.1 / 5

1,111 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 57 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

78

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

0

Contact The Battery Show

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Mining Stock Education

• 

  Money of Mine

• 

  Sprott Money News

• 

  Macro Voices

• 

  Thoughtful Money with Adam Taggart

• 

  The Fin

Questions about The Battery Show