Nickel Asia seals $30-M Kazakhstan deal

MANILA, Philippines — Nickel Asia Corp. has finalized its entry into Kazakhstan’s mining industry after closing a $30-million deal for a 20-percent stake in a company with rights to the Karchiga copper mine.

In a disclosure on Friday, the Nickel Asia firm said it had completed all conditions for the purchase of the stake in East Copper Production LLP, the sole legal and beneficial owner of GRK MLD LLP, which holds the rights to the Karchiga mine in East Kazakhstan.

Nickel Asia bought the stake from Silk Road Resources Ltd., a private entity incorporated under the Astana International Financial Centre.

The transaction closes a deal first announced in April, after which Nickel Asia paid an initial $10 million following the completion of due diligence.

The remaining $20 million has since been settled following the fulfillment of conditions under the sale and purchase agreement.

“With this transaction, NAC indirectly gains immediate exposure to elevated copper prices without greenfield development risks,” the company said. “Management believes the transaction will strengthen NAC’s earnings base and align the company with the long-term outlook for copper demand,” it added.

Through its investment in East Copper, Nickel Asia is gaining exposure to an operating mine that generated $70 million in revenues in the first half and produced 5,240 tons of copper during the same period.

Karchiga sits within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, part of the broader Central Asian Copper Belt, a region known for its significant copper resources.

Nickel Asia also expects to benefit from elevated copper prices amid rising demand from data centers, electric vehicles and power grids.

Even before closing the Kazakhstan deal, Nickel Asia had already benefited from higher mineral prices and increased sales volumes at its core mining business.

In the first half, the company nearly doubled its attributable net income to P4.06 billion from P2.1 billion a year earlier.

Its six operating mines sold a combined 8.65 million wet metric tons of nickel ore during the January-to-June period. INQ