Highlights:
• Record quarterly HNC EBITDA of US$14.7M
• Record 7,194,202 wmt on nickel ore produced at the Hengjaya Mine
• ENC progressing well, all three autoclaves now on site
• Sampala Project exploration target
Commenting on the December quarter's activities, Managing Director Justin Warner said:
“We are pleased to report another strong quarter with a number of new records again set including a record quarterly contribution of US $14.7 million From our 10% interest in the HNC HPAL, which bodes very well for our ENC HPAL where construction progress is on track to deliver first production in the second half of 2025.
A record month of mining was recorded at our Hengjaya Mine with over 7 million tonnes mined for the quarter in a record 1.3 million tonnes sold for the month of November which delivered US$ 27M for that month. EBITDA for the first two months of the quarter from Hengjaya Mine was US$42M which was unfortunately offset by US$8.5M loss in December as only 200,000 tonnes were able to be sold (mining and stockpiling continued unaffected) as the Hengjaya Mine quota of 9 million tonnes of ore sales for the year was reached in early December.
This quota has now been reset again to 9 million tonnes for 2025 with a good start to January sales already recorded. The company is in the process of seeking to increase this quota to 19 million tonnes, with a feasibility study and AMDAL (environmental impact already submitted for approval), the company is aiming for this approval to be received in the second half of 2025.
Our ONI RKEF operations achieved a new record of 12,362 tonnes of nickel in NPI for the quarter of our full RKEF operations delivered slightly lower costs then the September quarter with NPI pricing remaining stable. Unfortunately, due to US$ appreciation over the quarter US$20M FX loss was recorded. Removing the effects of the FX movements, to the underlying RKEF EBITDA/t margin would have resulted in an EBITDA/t margin increase a 14.3% from US$1,144/t in the September quarter US$1309t for the December quarter.
Exploration in mind development at our recently announced Sampala Project acquisition continues to progress well, with almost 100,000m of drilling completed to date and spectacular, consistent, long, high-grade intercepts being recorded; with peak grades up to 7.41% nickel and 1.37% cobalt in a world class exploration target of 350 million to 700 million dmt, making Sampala possibly one of the largest know nickel deposits globally.
With current nickel ore prices of US$45/wmt for 1.6% saprolite and US$20/wmt for 1.2% limonite and our Hengjaya Mine reporting average margins of $12/wmt 2024, the Sampala Project has the potential to be a significant future EBITDA contributor, with a very low anticipated capital development cost of US$50 million.”
About us:
Nickel Industries Limited (NIC) is an ASX-listed company which owns a portfolio of mining and low-cost downstream nickel processing assets in Indonesia.
The Company has a long history in Indonesia, with controlling interests in the world-class Hengjaya Mine, as well as four rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) projects which produce nickel matte for the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain and nickel pig iron (NPI) for the stainless-steel industry.
Having established itself as a globally significant producer of NPI, the Company is now rapidly transitioning its production to focus on the EV battery supply chain – recently, the Company has acquired a 10% interest in the Huayue Nickel Cobalt (HNC) HPAL project, adding mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) to its product portfolio.
Nickel Industries is now embarking on its next transformative step, investing in Excelsior Nickel Cobalt (ENC), a next-generation HPAL project capable of producing MHP, nickel sulphate and nickel cathode. ENC is expected to produce approximately 72,000 tonnes of nickel metal per annum, diversifying the Company’s production and reducing the Company’s carbon emissions profile – reflecting the strong commitment to sustainable operations.
To learn more, please visit: www. nickelindustries.com
Contact details:
Nickel Industries Limited (ASX:NIC)
Justin Werner
Managing Director
[email protected]
+62 813 8191 2391
Cameron Peacock
Investor Relations and Business Development
[email protected]
+61 439 908 732
Investor Relations
The Capital Network
Julia Maguire
+61 2 7257 7338
[email protected]