Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg said last Friday that the company is talking with carmakers and battery makers about nickel - a key component in electric vehicle batteries which Tesla CEO Elon Musk has asked miners to produce more of.

"A lot of the automobile guys and the battery guys are talking to us about nickel," said Glasenberg said. Glencore this year signed an agreement with Tesla to supply it with cobalt from the Congo.

Glencore produced 121,000 tonnes of nickel in 2019 and sold 181,000 tonnes through its marketing business. Glencore owns nickel mines in Australia, Canada and New Caledonia and a nickel refinery in Norway.