The Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC) share price closed almost 4% higher today ahead of the restart in nickel trading on the London Metal Exchange.
Nickel Mines shares finished the day at $1.20, a 3.9% gain. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed 1.1% higher today.
Let's take a look at what is happening at Nickel Mines.
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All eyes on the London Metal Exchange
The Nickel Mines share price made a healthy gain ahead of the resumption of nickel trading on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Trading of the metal will recommence at 8am London time on 16 March. This is three hours after the ASX closes.
The reopening in London comes after the LME suspended nickel trading last week amid nickel prices hitting record highs above US$100,000 a tonne.
Nickel Mines was not the only ASX nickel share to jump today. Panoramic Resources (ASX: PAN) leapt 3.36% while IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) and Mincor Resources (ASX: MCR) both climbed 1%.
Nickel Mines was one of the top three most traded ASX 200 shares by volume on Wednesday, as my Foolish colleague Sebastian reported.
Earlier this week, Nickel Mines reported the Oracle Nickel Project in Indonesia had been granted corporate tax relief. Nickel Mines hopes to complete its 70% stake in the project by the end of the year.
Last week, Nickel Mines dealt with media speculation about a short position in LME nickel held by the Tisinghan group. Tsingshan informed the company it had no intention of buying or selling any Nickel Mines shares. Yesterday, Tsingshan reached a standstill agreement with its banks to avoid further margin calls, according to reporting by Bloomberg.
Earlier, Nickel Mines also withdrew a share purchase plan after receiving applications totalling $57 million. The company had been aiming to raise $18 million.
Nickel mines share price snapshot
The Nickel Mines share price has dropped almost 18% in the past year, falling 16% year to date.
In the past week alone, the company's shares have shed around 19%.
For perspective, the benchmark index has returned around 5% over the past year.
