Nickel mines in Australia produced 180,000 tonnes of the metal in 2019, putting the country in fifth place for production worldwide. Nickel is the rising star of the base metals world, and is quickly gaining more prominence beyond its traditional role in industrial applications through the creation of stainless steel. Moonlighting as a key ingredient in the electric metals world, nickel is a major component in the creation of the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and other electric applications. Australia is positioned to take advantage of rising demand for the metal, with the continent-spanning nation sitting on some 20 percent of global nickel reserves, behind only neighbouring Indonesia.