Nickel Industries has announced that its Hengjaya Mine has obtained its 2026 Work and Revenue Plan (RKAB) quota for nickel ore sales, which has been increased from 9 million wet metric tonnes (wmt) to 14.3 million wmt. This represents an increase of approximately 60% in the sales quota, significantly outperforming peers (many of whom have received quota increases of less than 30%).
The substantial reduction in RKAB quotas has played a significant role in the recent sharp rise in nickel prices, enabling NIC to achieve adjusted EBITDA of approximately US$50 million in January.
Of the 2026 RKAB quota of 14.3 million wmt, it is expected that 6 million wmt of saprolite ore will be supplied to the company's RKEF operations at IMIP, with the remaining 8.3 million wmt sufficient to meet the limonite ore requirements for the ENC HPAL project in 2026.
The company is currently submitting the required documents for approval of the 14.3 million wmt 2026 RKAB and is eligible to apply for further increases to its RKAB quota mid-year and at year-end; the company intends to utilize both windows to seek additional increases to its RKAB quota following the commissioning and ramp-up of the ENC project.
Written by Cora Ji, jiruyan@mysteel.com
