A fresh resource upgrade is putting Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC) back on investors’ radar on Monday.
The ASX nickel stock is up 1.98% to $1.03 at the time of writing after the company released a major update on its Sampala Project in Indonesia.
It comes after a strong stretch for shareholders. Nickel Industries shares have gained around 23% in 2026 and 53% over the past year.
So, what has investors buying the ASX 200 nickel stock today?
Sampala gets a lot bigger
The latest JORC update gives Nickel Industries a much larger resource at its Sampala Project in Indonesia.
The company said Sampala now has a combined mineral resource of 1.095 billion wet metric tonnes (wmt), grading 1.24% nickel and 0.09% cobalt.
In metal terms, that works out to around 8 million tonnes of nickel and 583,000 tonnes of cobalt.
Management said the updated resource places Sampala among the largest known nickel laterite resources globally.
Its location also makes the update more useful for the business. Sampala sits close to the company’s existing Indonesian processing operations, where it already has nickel pig iron, matte, and high-pressure acid leach exposure.
A nearby resource of this size can support ore supply and give the company more control over its raw material base.
Why Sampala is getting attention
The project is about 58 kilometres by road from Nickel Industries’ rotary kiln electric furnace and high-pressure acid leach operations in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park.
Nickel Industries said the first 8 kilometres of a planned 24-kilometre haul road have been built.
The company said the road linking Sampala to its existing operations is now about 90% complete.
Other development work is also moving ahead.
The crushing plant has been commissioned and can process up to 600 wmt per hour.
Site offices, communications, mine roads, and accommodation are also progressing.
Management said Sampala will help make the company’s RKEF operations self-sufficient in saprolite ore.
It also said a nearby HPAL expansion could use limonite ore from Sampala through a slurry pipeline.
The acquisition terms
Nickel Industries is also moving to secure more control over Sampala.
The company is making an advance payment of US$28.5 million to secure the right to acquire 60% equity control and economic rights in the ANN mining concession.
A final acquisition payment of US$144 million is then expected in April 2027.
Nickel Industries said the deferred structure helps preserve near-term liquidity while development at Sampala continues.
The company also noted that Indonesian reference pricing changes have improved the value of both saprolite and limonite ore.
The structure gives Nickel Industries room to keep progressing Sampala while pushing the larger payment into 2027.
The post This ASX 200 nickel stock is rising after a huge project upgrade appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.
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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.