Suitors lining up for $2.3bn nickel explorer and developer Chalice Mining are preparing to lob their final offers by August 21, sources say.
The company’s main project is its Julimar nickel and copper project in Western Australia’s Avon region, 70km northeast of Perth.
The group’s Gonneville deposit is one of the world’s largest nickel sulphide discoveries.
It reported a net loss of $33.7m for the six months to December and is looking for a backer to fund its development through Standard Chartered.
But some believe the process could result in an acquisition of the company as a whole.
Sources say Chalice is open to several options including a partial sale of about 20 per cent of the group, or 100 per cent.
The king maker is founding chairman Tim Goyder, who owns just over 8 per cent of the business. He has proved a tough negotiator on price, based on the experience of Albemarle, which has been courting Liontown.
Mr Goyder, who stepped down as the chairman of Chalice Mining in 2021, also owns 15 per cent of Liontown. Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, offered $5.5bn for that company, currently worth $6bn, but that was rejected.
Anglo American, South32, BHP and Rio Tinto are expected to be lining up for Chalice’s platinum metals assets.
Some experts say the big players will be obliged to look at the asset, simply given the size of the resource, but the project is not yet in production and will take a long time from an environment point of view.
The world’s largest platinum producer, Sibanye-Stillwater, could also be in the mix.
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