Tsingshan, now the world’s largest producer of both stainless steel and nickel, was one of the few groups to commit to the Indonesian Government’s vision of establishing a local processing and in July 2013 set about building what is now its world class IMIP. As Tsingshan began to build NPI and stainless steel capacity within IMIP there became a growing requirement for nickel as feedstock to their plant. This resulted in Nickel Industries restarting operations on October 2015 and signing an offtake agreement with Tsingshan for the supply of high grade saprolite ore.

In 2017 expansion of this relationship resulted in Nickel Industries executing an Agreement with Tsingshan entity Shanghai Decent to collaborate on the funding and construction of 2 RKEF lines (‘Hengjaya Nickel Project’) to produce 150kt per annum of NPI containing 15kt of nickel metal equivalent. Nickel Industries completed a 60% acquisition of Hengjaya Nickel in August 2018, following admission to the ASX under the stock code NIC. Nickel Industries completed the acquisition of Hengjaya Nickel in June 2020, with Tsingshan holding the remaining 20%.

In November 2018 the Company announced a further Collaboration Agreement to acquire up to an additional 80% interest in two additional RKEF lines (‘Ranger Nickel Project’). By June 2020 Nickel Industries had completed the acquisition of 80% of Ranger Nickel.

Construction of both Hengjaya Nickel and Ranger Nickel was completed in the first half 2019, well ahead of schedule and less than 12 months after ground was broken at each project. Production levels at both projects since commissioning have been consistently well above nameplate capacity.

In November 2020 the Company executed a binding Agreement with Shanghai Decent to acquire a 70% interest (subsequently increased to 80%) in the Angel Nickel Project, a development project within the IWIP on Halmahera Island in Indonesia’s North Maluku province.

The Angel Nickel project is a joint collaboration with Shanghai Decent, the Company’s largest shareholder, comprising:

• four 54 KVA rotary RKEF lines with an annual nameplate production capacity of 36,000 tonnes of nickel metal (in nickel pig iron); and
• a 380MW power plant.

By September 2021 Nickel Industries had completed the 80% acquisition of the Angel Nickel Project. The first of Angel’s four RKEF lines commenced commissioning at the end of January 2022. The second and third lines commenced commissioning in March 2022 and the fourth line in May 2022. The 380MW power plant at Angel Nickel commissioned in August 2022.

In December 2021 by the execution in of a Definitive Agreement to acquire a 70% interest in the Oracle Nickel Project , a development project currently completing construction within the IMIP.

The Oracle Nickel project comprises:

• four 54 KVA RKEF lines with an annual nameplate production capacity of 36,000 tonnes of nickel metal (in nickel pig iron); and
• ancillary facilities required for the operation of each of the RKEF lines.

Oracle Nickel separately undertook the construction of a 380MW power plant to support the Company’s RKEF lines and the IMIP’s overall grid power requirements. In May 2022 the Company had completed acquisition of a 30% interest in Oracle Nickel and in September 2022 the Company acquired an additional 40% interest, taking its interest to 70%. The Oracle Nickel project commenced commissioning in mid-November 2022, and by the end of March 2023 all four RKEF lines had been commissioned. This was followed by the commissioning of the Oracle Nickel power plant in late June 2023. In early August 2023 the Company moved to an 80% interest in Oracle Nickel following the payment of $75M to Shanghai Decent.