Huayou Nickel
Excelsior Nickel
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 to be 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 electric vehicle (EV) battery market.
The Project also comes with a commissioning guarantee to nameplate capacity and a delivery time frame guarantee of not more than 2 years from the commencement of construction.
The Project has been awarded a 15-year corporate income tax holiday.
NIC is fully funded for its 55% share of ENC and will make its acquisition payments in accordance with the following schedule.
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$2.3 billion (Capex Guarantee). Importantly, the Capex Guarantee represents a highly competitive capital intensity compared to several recently announced projects and advances beyond purely “EPC” costs as it includes Project commissioning and production build-up to nameplate capacity of at least 60,000 metric tons per annum of contained nickel equivalent. Importantly, the Capex Guarantee includes a tailings facility encompassing industry best practice storage and management (via dry-stack tailings), and an integrated sulphuric acid plant which will produce the majority of the Project’s power needs via renewable energy).
Date | US$M | Equity Acquired | Equity Acquired |
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% | 27.5% |
By 1 October 2024 | 379.50 | 16.50% | 44.00% |
By 1 July 2025 | 126.50 | 55.50% | 55.00% |
By 1 October 2025 | 126.50 | 5.50% | 55.00% |
TOTAL | 1,265.0 | 55.00% | 100 |