Sphere Corp (KOSDAQ:347700) intends to acquire a 10% interest in Nickel Industries’ (ASX:NIC) Excelsior Nickel Cobalt High-Pressure Acid Leach (ENC HPAL) Project in Indonesia, at a US$2.4 billion ($3.58 billion) valuation.
As part of the deal, Sphere will offtake its 10% share of nickel cathode and has entered into an offtake agreement, at market price, for further volumes above its 10% ownership stake.
Funding of the transaction is expected to be completed in early Q1 2026.
Nickel Industries Managing Director Justin Werner says Sphere choosing to invest in ENC demonstrates the quality of the ENC cathode, the traceability of the product and the goal for the project to become a “global showpiece”.
“This transaction marks the first offtake agreement for ENC material into western markets, and we are particularly pleased that it is into the growing aerospace and aeronautical industries, which demands the highest product quality and is forecast to grow by approximately 8% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) to 2030,” Werner says.
Sphere Corp is a South Korean-listed, premium alloy and precision materials manufacturer for the global aerospace industry. The company is one of the global key vendors supplying special alloys to aerospace company SpaceX – which recently announced a 10-year supply contract valued at around US$1 billion to provide high-performance nickel and superalloys for SpaceX’s rocket components.
The ENC Project is expected to produce 72,000 metric tonnes per year of contained nickel-equivalent. ENC will be the first HPAL globally with the capacity to produce three major class-one nickel products, all of which are suitable for use in the EV battery market.
Nickel Industries currently holds a 44% interest in the ENC project, which will remain unchanged.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Nickel Industries
