The Financial Post reports in its Friday, Jan. 17, edition that Indonesia's ban on raw mineral exports could bring life back to a nickel industry that is suffering from a plunge in metal prices. The Globe's Rachelle Younglai writes that First Nickel (four cents) and Royal Nickel (42 cents) made gains this week after the ban came into effect on Sunday. Nickel is down 70 per cent from its record high of $24 reached in 2007 when supplies were scarce. Royal Nickel vice-president Mark Selby says the ban "is wildly bullish for the industry." Royal Nickel is working on a project in Quebec that could one day rival the massive nickel mines in Sudbury. Indonesia is the world's largest producer of nickel and is responsible for about 20 per cent of global supply. Although there is currently a glut of nickel on the market, the world could start running out of the metal in 2015 if Indonesia keeps the ban in place. That could send prices back into the double digits. The Indonesian government has already exempted copper, iron ore and zinc from the ban.