[SMM Nickel Market Flash] Harita Nickel Reports Q1 2026 Revenue of Rp6.81T (~$418M), Full-Year 2025 at Rp29.63T

The Forum Industri Nikel Indonesia (FINI) has formally requested government clarification on the scope of ferro alloy products that will be required to export through PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI), Indonesia's newly established single-window export body. FINI Chairman Arif Perdana Kusumah said the industry is still awaiting an official commodity list, with the key open question being whether the mandatory DSI routing applies only to ferronickel (FeNi) or also to nickel pig iron (NPI). Ferronickel, a nickel-iron alloy with typical nickel content of 20-40%, is a key feedstock for stainless steel. The uncertainty adds to operational planning challenges for NPI producers as the DSI framework takes shape.

First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corp. has received a supplemental exploration permit from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for its wholly owned Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project, covering a 30-kilometre ophiolite complex. The permit authorizes wellbore water injection, additional drilling, and Electrical Resistivity Tomography surveys. The project targets awaruite (Ni3Fe), a naturally occurring nickel-iron-cobalt alloy (~77% nickel) that requires no smelting, roasting, or acid leaching — eliminating processing steps typical of sulphide or laterite ore. The permit also advances a secondary initiative to stimulate geologic hydrogen production by injecting water into serpentinizing ultramafic rock, developed in collaboration with the Colorado School of Mines.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has formally certified the USA B exploration license application submitted by TMC USA, the U.S. subsidiary of The Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC). The USA B area covers approximately 122,000 km² of seafloor in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, estimated to contain 1.02 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules with high grades of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese. NOAA will now begin preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for TMC USA's proposed exploration activities. The certification follows NOAA's April 2026 determination that TMC USA's separate consolidated application for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit for the USA A area is fully compliant with the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act.