Mining Giant BHP Sees Nickel Pain Lingering as Net Income Slumps

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(Bloomberg) — BHP Group Ltd.’s first-half net income slumped 86% from the year before, after oversupply in the nickel market forced the world’s biggest miner to write down the value of key assets.

The company announced last week it would take a $2.5 billion impairment on the value of its Australian nickel assets, which could be mothballed later this year following a review. Global supplies of the metal — which has become key to the energy transition due to its use in electrification and batteries — ballooned after Indonesia quickly ramped up production, causing benchmark prices to crater and the closure of at least six nickel projects in Australia in the past year.