(Jan 2): Australia's Nickel Industries said on Friday that South Korea's Sphere Corp will buy a 10% stake in the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt high-pressure acid leach plant (HPAL) project in Indonesia at a US$2.4 billion (RM9.73 billion) valuation. The South Korean materials manufacturer will acquire the stake from Hong Kong-based Decent Resource, while Nickel Industries will retain its 44% stake in the project, the Australian company said in a statement. The ENC HPAL project, being built in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi, will be the first HPAL project worldwide with the capacity to produce three class-1 nickel products —mixed hydroxide precipitate, nickel sulphate and nickel cathode, according to Nickel Industries' website. The deal comes at a time of soaring nickel prices as top producer Indonesia plans to cut mining output quotas to support commodity prices. Nickel Industries expects funding of the transaction to complete early in the first quarter of 2026.

Source: The Edge Markets January 02, 2026 00:02 UTC