The news that Ardea Resources’ Goongarrie hub nickel-cobalt project has received major backing has arrived at a pivotal moment for Australia’s nickel sector, coming two years after the Federal Government placed nickel on the national Critical Minerals List. 

Ardea confirmed last week it has secured conditional funding support of up to $1 billion for the Goongarrie hub in Western Australia’s Goldfields, following the issuance of non-binding letters of support and interest from Export Finance Australia (EFA) and the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM). 

The backing, structured under EFA and EXIM’s Single Point of Entry (SPE) framework, represents one of the most significant financing packages assembled for an Australian nickel-cobalt development. 

Under the proposal, EFA has signalled potential support of up to around $500 million, while EXIM has issued a letter of interest for up to $US350 million ($500m), subject to due diligence and final approvals. While the funding is not yet committed, the scale of interest provides a material de-risking step as Ardea advances the project towards a final investment decision. 

The announcement comes as Australia moves to shore up domestic supply of battery-critical commodities following a prolonged downturn in the nickel market driven largely by global oversupply and the rapid expansion of Indonesian nickel production. 

When Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King confirmed in February 2024 that nickel would be added to Australia’s Critical Minerals List, it unlocked access to concessional finance, grants and government-backed support mechanisms previously unavailable to the sector. 

The decision followed sustained industry lobbying, with miners and developers arguing that nickel’s exclusion from the list left Australian projects exposed at a time when prices were being heavily pressured by low-cost overseas supply.  

Inclusion on the list allowed nickel projects to tap into programs such as the Critical Minerals Facility, designed to help crowd in private capital and support downstream processing ambitions. 

For proponents such as Ardea, the policy shift strengthened the investment case for large-scale developments targeting battery-grade nickel and cobalt, particularly those aligned with allied supply chains. 

A globally significant resource 

The Goongarrie hub, located about 70km north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, forms part of Ardea’s Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP), which hosts one of the world’s largest undeveloped nickel-cobalt resources.  

The project, which had its major project status renewed for a further three years by the Federal Government in October last year, is being advanced in joint venture with Japanese industrial heavyweights Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation, which are funding the hub’s definitive feasibility study. 

Ardea has positioned Goongarrie as a long-life, multi-decade operation capable of producing significant volumes of nickel and cobalt suitable for battery and energy-storage applications. Recent drilling campaigns have continued to deliver encouraging intercepts, reinforcing confidence in the scale and quality of the resource. 

Importantly, the project’s focus on downstream-ready material rather than bulk intermediate products aligns closely with Australia’s broader critical-minerals strategy, which prioritises value-added processing and secure export relationships. 

The inclusion of nickel and cobalt in EXIM’s portfolio highlights the growing strategic importance of these commodities to US manufacturing, electric vehicle and defence supply chains. The coordinated involvement of EXIM and EFA underscores how Australian projects are increasingly being assessed through a geopolitical as well as a commercial lens. 

Indonesia has transformed itself into the world’s dominant nickel supplier over the past decade. Jakarta’s policy settings, including export bans and incentives for domestic processing, have fuelled a surge in laterite-based production, much of it tied into Chinese-backed processing infrastructure. 

That expansion has weighed heavily on global prices, pushing many higher-cost producers out of the market and forcing closures or care-and-maintenance decisions across Australia’s nickel projects. 

Competing with Indonesian supply is a challenge for Australian developers. Instead, projects such as Goongarrie are increasingly framed as strategic alternatives, offering stable, geopolitically aligned supply to markets seeking to reduce exposure to concentrated production hubs. 

For Ardea, the convergence of policy support and financing interest marks a turning point after years of market headwinds. While significant hurdles remain, including finalising project economics, securing binding funding commitments and navigating volatile commodity markets, Goongarrie is now better positioned than at any point in its development history. 

Execution risk remains front and centre. The conditional nature of the EFA and EXIM support means Ardea must still satisfy rigorous technical, environmental and commercial criteria before funding is finalised. Market conditions will also play a decisive role, particularly as nickel prices continue to respond to shifts in Indonesian supply and global demand. 

However, with nickel recognised as a critical mineral, and with government backing signalling support, Australia’s nickel-cobalt projects are back in focus. 

For the domestic nickel sector, Ardea’s funding milestone may prove to be an early indicator of a broader reset. 

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