Brazil's Vale reaches deal to supply Tesla with low-carbon nickel

Brazilian mining titan Vale has announced a deal with US based electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla to supply it with low-carbon nickel.

Under the long-term contract, Vale said it will supply class 1 nickel to Tesla in the US from its operations in Canada. Vale did not reveal the timetable of the contract or the exact volumes of nickel to be supplied to Tesla. 

“We are pleased to have the leading electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla among our customers,” Deshnee Naidoo, Vale’s executive vice president of base metals in Canada, said in a statement. 

“This agreement reflects a shared commitment to sustainability and shows very clearly we are the supplier of choice for low-carbon and high purity nickel products essential for long-range batteries," she added. 

Vale underlined that it expects to make up to 40% of class 1 nickel sales to the fast-growing electric vehicle industry.

Vale's Canadian operation produces some of the lowest-carbon nickel in the world. 

"Rounds from its Long Harbour refinery in Newfoundland & Labrador in 2020 had a verified carbon footprint of 4.4 tonnes CO2 equivalent per tonne of nickel, while pellets and powder from the Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery in Ontario had a verified footprint of 7.3 tonnes equivalent. This includes Scope 1 and 2 emissions from mining, milling and refining as well as upstream Scope 3 emissions from inputs," the company said.