Nickel Industries holds an 80% interest in the Hengjaya Nickel, Ranger Nickel and Oracle Nickel rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) projects located within the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) and the Angel Nickel RKEF project located at the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP).
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Nickel Industries holds a 10% interest in the Huayue Nickel Cobalt HPAL project, currently producing low-carbon battery-grade nickel for the electric vehicle supply chain, and is acquiring a 55% interest in the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt HPAL project. Find out more about our operations.
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In October 2023 the Company announced it had reached a positive final investment decision (FID) with respect to its participation and investment in Excelsior Nickel Cobalt (ENC), a next generation high pressure acid leach (HPAL) project being constructed within the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
ENC is expected to produce 72,000 metric tons per annum of contained nickel equivalent across the three major class-1 nickel products being mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), nickel sulphate and nickel cathode. ENC will be the first HPAL globally with the capacity to produce these three major class-1 nickel products, all of which are suitable for use in the EV battery market.
The Project has been awarded a 15-year corporate income tax holiday.
Shanghai Decent, the Company’s largest shareholder and partner, will once again be providing a “capex guarantee” whereby the total construction costs will not exceed US$2.3 billion (Capex Guarantee). Importantly, the Capex Guarantee includes a tailings facility encompassing industry best practice storage and management (via dry-stack tailings), and an integrated sulphuric acid plant which will produce the majority of the Project’s power needs via renewable energy.
The Project also comes with a commissioning guarantee to nameplate capacity and a delivery timeframe guarantee of not more than 2 years from the commencement of construction.
| Date | US$M | Equity Acquired | Cumulative Equity |
| 10 Business days following shareholder approval (paid) | 126.5 | 5.50% | 5.50% |
| By 1 January 2024 (paid) | 189.8 | 8.25% | 13.75% |
| By 1 April 2024 (paid) | 316.3 | 13.75% | 27.50% |
| By 1 October 2024 (paid) | 379.50 | 16.50% | 44.00% |
| By 1 July 2025 | 126.50 | 5.50% | 49.50% |
| By 1 October 2025 | 126.50 | 5.50% | 55.00% |
| TOTAL | 1,265.0 | 55.00% |
Nickel Industries excels in low-cost nickel production through its Indonesian subsidiaries. Our Hengjaya Mine is seen as a benchmark in sustainable nickel mining in Indonesia. We are committed to sustainable practices and fostering strong partnerships with local communities and industries. Find out more about our operations.
ViewNickel Industries holds an 80% interest in the share capital of PT Hengjaya Mineralindo (PT Hengjaya), an Indonesian PMA company. The remaining 20% interest in PT Hengjaya is owned by the Company’s Indonesian partner, the Wijoyo family. PT Hengjaya holds a 100% interest in the Hengjaya Mine, located in the Morowali Regency, on the east coast of the province of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The Hengjaya Mine IUP permit concession area covers 5,983 hectares. In 2012 PT Hengjaya was issued a 20-year mining operation/production licence including a further 10-year extension option.
Nickel Industries advanced the project through the various permitting, exploration, community socialisation, environmental studies and feasibility and development stages (including construction of a haul road, jetty and stockpile area) to the point where production commenced in October 2012 ahead of a maiden shipment of unprocessed ore in February 2013. A number of high-grade ore shipments were made to China and Japan over the course of 2013.
Shortly after the introduction of the Indonesian Government’s ban on the exportation of unprocessed minerals in January 2014, production ceased at Hengjaya with Nickel Industries forced to explore in-country beneficiation options.
In January 2019 commenced supplying ore to the Company’s 80% owned subsidiary Hengjaya Nickel, operator of the Hengjaya Nickel RKEF project and when the Ranger Nickel RKEF project commenced production in May 2019 the Hengjaya Mine also commenced supplying ore to Ranger Nickel.
The Hengjaya Mine is one of the only large tonnage, high grade saprolite mines in close proximity to the IMIP.
In September 2022 Nickel Industries announced an updated JORC compliant resource report within the Hengjaya project concession area. The Hengjaya Mine is one of the largest tonnage, high grade operations in close proximity to the IMIP in central Sulawesi. Using a 0.8% Ni cut-off grade, the Hengjaya Mine hosts a JORC compliant resource of 300 million dry tonnes at 1.22% Ni and 0.09% Co, containing 3,700,000 tonnes of contained nickel and 270,000 tonnes of contained cobalt as follows:
| Category | Dry Tonnes (Million) | NI (%) | CO (%) | FE (%) |
| Measured | 85 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 30.4 |
| Indicated | 130 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 28.6 |
| Inferred | 85 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 29.1 |
| Total | 300 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 29.2 |
In 2024 Nickel Industries has announced the acquisition of the Sampala nickel project (comprising three highly prospective, advanced and contiguous IUPs) covering 6,654 hectares and a 51% interest in the Siduarsi project, a 6th Contract of Work (CoW) which covers 16,470 hectares in West Papua.
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The Sampala Project is located only 36.9km from the IMIP, where the Company’s existing rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) and high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) operations are located. The Sampala Project is also 36.4km from the Company’s HM operations and immediately North of the Sulawesi Cahaya Minerals (SCM) project, which is 49% owned by the Company’s largest shareholder, Shanghai Decent. SCM has reported resources of 1,139 million dmt at 1.2% nickel for 13.9 million tonnes of contained nickel metal, making it one of the world’s largest known nickel resources.
Over 574km of ground penetrating radar (UltraGPR), covering 4,700ha and 46,982m of diamond drilling across 900ha has been completed to date covering only 20% of the mapped laterite area within the IUP permit areas. From this initial drilling, a combined JORC compliant Mineral Resource totalling 187 million dmt of 1.2% nickel and 0.09% cobalt has already been estimated. This equates to 2.3 million tonnes of contained nickel metal and 0.2 million tonnes of cobalt.
On 26 August 2024 the Company announced the acquisition of the Sampala Project.
| Project-ID | IUP Permit Holder | Permit area (ha) | IUP Permit Status |
| ETL | PT Erabaru Timur Lestari | 1,159 | Operation and Production |
| MJN | PT Mandiri Jaya Nickel | 4,871 | Operation and Production |
| GF | CV Gita Flora | 624 | Operation and Production |
| Total Sampala Project area | 6,654 | Operation and Production | |
| Lithology | Mineral Resource Category | M wmt | M dmt | Ni (%) | Co (%) | Fe (%) | CONTAINED NICKEL (000t) |
| Limonite (CoG 0.8%) | Indicated | 86 | 47 | 1.1 | 0.11 | 41 | 510 |
| Inferred | 170 | 100 | 1.2 | 0.11 | 41.1 | 1,185 | |
| Total | 256 | 147 | 1.2 | 0.11 | 41.1 | 1,695 | |
| Saprolite (CoG 0.8%) | Indicated | 13 | 8 | 1.4 | 0.04 | 17.4 | 110 |
| Inferred | 48 | 32 | 1.5 | 0.04 | 15.3 | 480 | |
| Total | 61 | 40 | 1.5 | 0.04 | 15.7 | 590 | |
| Total (CoG 0.8%) | Indicated | 99 | 55 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 37.9 | 620 |
| Inferred | 218 | 132 | 1.3 | 0.09 | 35.4 | 1,665 | |
| Total | 317 | 187 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 36.2 | 2,285 |
The Siduarsi Project is a 6th generation Contract of Work (CoW) held by PT Iriana Mutiara Mining (IMM), and is one of only four active nickel CoWs in Indonesia; the other three being Pt Vale Indonesia (which hosts its Sorowako nickel matte processing plant), Weda Bay which hosts the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) where the Nickel Industries Limited’s (Nickel Industries or the Company) Angel Nickel rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) operations are located, and Gag Island in West Papua, Indonesia.
The Siduarsi Project CoW covers 16,470 hectares (ha) along geo-tectonic strike from the Ramu nickel-cobalt project in neighbouring Papua New Guinea, which reported 165Mt of Resources (118Mt Measured, 31Mt Indicated and 15Mt Inferred) at 0.9% nickel and 0.1% cobalt in December 2023 (cut-off grade 0.5% Ni), after 12 years of operation.
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