By: Reuters

African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) ARIJ.J said on Tuesday it is considering restarting open-pit operations at its Nkomati nickel mine in South Africa, after agreeing a conditional off-take deal with Sweden's Boliden AB BOL.ST.

The Nkomati mine was placed on care and maintenance in 2021 due to persistent financial losses driven by rising operational costs and weak nickel prices.

Russia's Nornickel, ARM's former joint venture partner in Nkomati, sold its 50% interest in the asset to ARM in July 2025, leaving the diversified South African miner as the mine's sole owner.

ARM said in a statement it had agreed a deal to sell nickel concentrate from Nkomati to Boliden, subject to the approval of ARM's board as well as responsible sourcing due diligence by Boliden.

"This transaction supports the potential recommencement of mining at Nkomati and strengthens the Nkomati restart business case by securing an off-take route for future nickel concentrate

production," ARM said.

The concentrate will be shipped for processing at Boliden's Harjavalta smelter in Finland, the only large-scale nickel smelter in Europe, ARM added.

The prices of nickel, which is mostly used in steel-making and electric vehicle batteries, are trending towards two-year highs, mainly driven by policy-driven cuts in top producer Indonesia.

(Reporting by Nelson Banya, Editing by Louise Heavens)