Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC) completed the acquisition of a 51% interest in the Siduarsi Project in Indonesia, with an option to increase to 100%.
The transaction, aligned with a previous agreement, involved the issuance of four million shares.
The step confirms the company's strategic commitment to expanding its resource base in the region.
A maiden Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) 2012 compliant mineral resource has been declared, indicating 52 million dry metric tonnes of mineralisation containing 561 thousand tonnes of nickel and 31 thousand tonnes of cobalt.
This initial assessment covers only 1,614 hectares of the 16,470-hectare permit area, highlighting significant potential for future development.
Commenting on the development, Justin Werner, Managing Director of Nickel Industries, stated, "We are very pleased to announce a maiden JORC resource for the Siduarsi CoW following a successful exploration program which confirms the project's prospectivity and potential."
Werner further noted that "initial metallurgical test work has demonstrated the ore to be very amenable to HPAL processing."
The Siduarsi Project is characterised by extensive geological work, including 167km of ground-penetrating radar and 31,066m of drilling.
The site has shown promising data with average limonite and saprolite thicknesses of 3.2 metres and 9.4m respectively.
The drilled areas have reported peak grades of 3.7% nickel and 0.8% cobalt, underscoring the high-quality nature of the deposit.
Nickel Industries has submitted a feasibility study to the Indonesian Mines Department proposing a three million wet metric tonnes direct shipping operation to the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park.
The project is expected to reinforce Nickel Industries' position as a key player in the Indonesian nickel market.
At the time of reporting, Nickel Industries' share price was $0.85.