Sphere, a SpaceX Supplier, Acquires a 10% Stake in Nickel Industries’ Indonesian Nickel Project
Fri 02 Jan 2026, 16:11 PM
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Australian mining company Nickel Industries has announced that South Korean materials firm Sphere Corp will acquire a 10% stake in the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt (ENC) high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) project in Indonesia.
The transaction values the ENC HPAL project at USD 2.4 billion.
In its official statement on Friday, January 2, 2026, Nickel Industries said Sphere will purchase the stake from Hong Kong–based Decent Resource.
Nickel Industries will retain a 44% ownership interest in the project.
Sphere Corp—known as a supplier of specialty alloys to Elon Musk’s SpaceX—will take offtake of nickel production in proportion to its shareholding.
In addition, Sphere has signed an extra offtake agreement for nickel volumes beyond its 10% stake, to be priced at market rates.
Located in Central Sulawesi, the ENC HPAL project is touted as the world’s first HPAL operation capable of producing three class-1 nickel products: mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), nickel sulfate, and nickel cathode.
Following the announcement, Nickel Industries’ shares jumped as much as 9%, making it one of the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index.
The deal comes amid a rebound in global nickel prices, as Indonesia—the world’s largest nickel producer—plans to trim mining production quotas to support the commodity’s price.
Nickel Industries expects the financing process for the transaction to be completed in early Q1 2026.
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