Mining stocks have been all the rage over the past three months and for those banking on higher nickel prices, there are some local producers worth casting an eye over.

Nickel and tin were the only base metals to avoid a sell-off on the London Metal Exchange (LME) on Monday as traders favoured safe-haven assets. Zinc fell 1.8 per cent, lead 1.2 per cent, aluminium 1.1 per cent and copper 0.8 per cent. Tin was steady but nickel was far and away the best performer, climbing 0.8 per cent. Since the start of July, nickel has climbed 16.9 per cent to $US23,090 ($24,000) a tonne. The LME gained 14.3 per cent over the same period.