The two mining giants that supply nickel to carmakers, billionaire Forrest and BHP Group Ltd (BHP.US), are engaged in a fierce competition.
A company owned by Australian iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest said it refused to make any concessions after its plan to buy Noront Resources, the Canadian nickel miner, was disrupted by BHP Group Ltd, the world's largest miner.
Meanwhile, Australian nickel producer Western Areas announced this week that it was in acquisition talks with a local competitor and revealed on Friday that Forrester had become a major shareholder in the company.
The critical moment in the dispute over Nickel Mine
BHP Group Ltd's attitude towards nickel has undergone a major change compared with before.
The company had planned to exit its nickel business and focus on other commodities and put its Australian Nickel West unit up for sale in 2014.
Now, with BHP Group Ltd phasing out its use of fossil fuels, the company has listed iron ore as one of the key commodities "for the future".
Last month, BHP Group Ltd announced that he had signed a nickel supply agreement with Tesla, Inc. to sell metals from Nickel West.
A week later, with the support of Noront's board of directors, the company announced a $260 million acquisition of control of Noront's rich nickel and copper mines.
But Forrest, who has long expressed interest in battery metals and ambitions to enter the industry, is not a sign of weakness.
Wyloo Metals Pty, owned by Forrester, owns about 25 per cent of Noront and holds a convertible loan.
The company said on Thursday that it would refuse to sell its stake to BHP Group Ltd, making it a partner that may be difficult to work with in the future, and that he may make a higher offer if Noront prepares to conduct due diligence in public accounts.
Forrest has the experience of cracking down on traditional and established companies.
He made his fortune in Australia against BHP Group Ltd, when his Fortescue Metal Group was all the rage in the last commodities supercycle.
Since then, he has single-handedly built a mining giant to challenge the traditional duopoly of BHP Group Ltd and Tinto in Australia.
Tom Price, head of commodities strategy at Liberum Capital, said:
Although Fortescue Metals is an iron ore miner, the name itself tells us that it has always been more ambitious.
Why is nickel so important?
Nickel, traditionally used to make stainless steel, is dominating the mining industry's push into battery metal.
As a key component of lithium-ion batteries, nickel is also Musk's favorite topic. Mr Musk called on producers last year to mine more nickel.
The metal provides more energy for batteries and allows manufacturers to reduce the use of cobalt. Cobalt is more expensive and the supply chain is opaque.
This article is edited from Wall Street News, by Han Xuyang and Zhang Jinliang, financial editor of Zhitong.