Water holds the autoclave
Nickel Industries said water had run short at Excelsior Nickel Cobalt in Central Sulawesi. If that persists, ENC is expected to run at about 30 per cent of nameplate. Before the constraint, the line had reached about 50 per cent of nameplate within four weeks of commissioning.[1]
High-pressure acid leaching needs water, steam and acid to pull nickel and cobalt from ore. Rainfall near Hengjaya Mine was under 4 millimetres in August 2026 against a historical August average of about 222 millimetres. Rotary kiln-electric furnace lines were unaffected. The missing input is process water, not the furnace.[1]
Ore moved; the leach waited
Hengjaya sold 1.6 million wet metric tonnes of ore in August. Nickel Industries holds a 46 per cent interest in ENC. A strong mine month does not fill the plant: ore can leave the pit while the leach runs only on the water the river still gives.[1]
The company’s base case is that water normalises with the wet season expected by December 2026. Until rain arrives, nameplate is a ceiling the river has to fill. As with a quota that does not measure delivered fuel, tonnes on a plate do not become product without cubic metres in the pipe.[1], [2]
What would December rain change?
The signal to watch is whether ENC still runs near 30 per cent and whether rain returns by December 2026 as the company assumes. If the rains lag, the bind stays the river, not the announced plant.[1]