Nickel is an element required for stainless steel whether you get that element from low grade or high grade nickel ore or as contained in NPI feedstock. What NPI has done is provide a cheaper way of processing low grades of stainless substitutes but still requires the nickel. The lower stainless prices result from lower processing costs, but once the initial market adjustments are made and a few old smelters closed , you still need ever more nickel to meet stainless demand growth. That requires more nickel , whether or not that nickel requires traditional smelting or is contained in NPI. In fact, it is most likely that less expensive stainless types will significantly increase the market for stainless (all other things equal) as stainless becomes more competitive to other metals . That is actually long term bullish for mining nickel. If stainless and ni-containing substitutes can be used more competitively in manufactured products, nickel demand could actually grow more rapidly. NOT's nickel will be profitably mined, the tougher question is when and by whom. The wild card is the Western economies, not NPI.