African Rainbow Minerals has signed a conditional agreement to supply nickel concentrate to a Swedish-owned smelter in Finland, potentially paving the way for the reopening of its mothballed Nkomati mine in Mpumalanga. The deal with Boliden, which operates the Harjavalta smelter, represents a significant step towards restarting South Africa’s only proven primary nickel resource.
The transaction would see nickel concentrate from Nkomati shipped to the Harjavalta facility over a multi-year period, ARM said. The Johannesburg-listed firm noted that its board must still approve the restart of mining operations at the asset, while Boliden is required to complete due diligence before the agreement becomes binding. The statement did not disclose commercial terms, citing confidentiality provisions.
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Nkomati has remained shuttered since 2021 but retains strategic importance as South Africa’s only dedicated primary nickel mine. ARM took full control of the asset last year by completing the acquisition of a 50 per cent interest from Russia’s MMC Norilsk Nickel. The move consolidated ARM’s ownership and removed a Russian partner from the project at a time when Western buyers have become increasingly cautious about sourcing materials linked to Russian entities.
ARM said the potential agreement with Boliden supports the possible recommencement of mining at Nkomati and strengthens the business case for a restart by securing an off-take route for future production. Harjavalta is the only large-scale nickel smelter in Europe, giving it a central role in the region’s refining supply chain.
Industry data indicates that Europe produces less than 5 per cent of the world’s mined nickel and remains heavily reliant on imports from Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia. The Finnish smelter processed approximately 120,000 tonnes of nickel feedstock in 2025, representing a substantial share of regional output.
The agreement aligns with broader European efforts to secure critical raw material supplies amid rising geopolitical uncertainty. The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act, which came into force in 2024, sets targets for domestic processing capacity and promotes diversified supply chains to reduce dependence on single sources, particularly China and Russia. Nickel is classified as a critical raw material due to its role in electric vehicle batteries, stainless steel production and aerospace alloys.
South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe is ARM’s founder and largest shareholder. The company’s portfolio spans coal, gold, manganese, iron ore and platinum group metals. The potential reopening of Nkomati would add nickel to that mix, diversifying ARM’s exposure at a time of price volatility.
Nickel traded at approximately $17,000 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange in April 2026, down from record highs above $100,000 per tonne in March 2022 following the disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite the pullback, analysts expect demand to recover as electric vehicle adoption accelerates, with BloombergNEF forecasting annual growth of about 20 per cent in battery-grade nickel demand through to 2030.
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Boliden, which operates mines and smelters producing copper, zinc, nickel and lead, has been expanding its sourcing network to reduce reliance on Russian feedstock. The company said in its 2025 annual results that it had replaced Russian nickel supply with alternative sources from Australia, Canada and potentially South Africa. The Harjavalta smelter underwent a €350 million modernisation programme completed in 2024 to increase capacity and lower emissions.
No timeline has been provided for board approval or the completion of due diligence. ARM has also not confirmed whether additional capital will be required to restart Nkomati after four years on care and maintenance. Before its closure, the mine produced about 15,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate annually, according to Minerals Council South Africa data. If reopened, it could create roughly 1,200 direct and indirect jobs in Mpumalanga, where unemployment has risen amid coal sector restructuring linked to Eskom’s transition away from coal-fired power.