: Manufacturers often buy pre-alloyed materials like Nickel Silver (a copper-nickel-zinc alloy) or superalloys like Inconel for their high-temperature stability and corrosion resistance. These can be purchased as sheets, rods, or wires cut to size. 2. Buying Nickel as an Investment

: Lower-purity products (less than 99.8% nickel). Common forms include ferronickel and nickel pig iron , which are primarily used in the production of stainless steel.

Industrial buyers typically purchase nickel based on its purity and form, which are categorized into two main classes:

: Traded on exchanges like the London Metal Exchange (LME) , futures allow buyers to hedge against price volatility or speculate on global demand.

: Some funds track a basket of base metals or specific mining indices, offering a more diversified way to invest in nickel. 3. Buying Nickels for Collections (Numismatics)