News: CHN Australia nickel miner Chalice in talks with automakers on minority stake

SINGAPORE, April 5 (Reuters) - Chalice Mining Ltd (CHN) is in talks with parties including global automakers about taking a minority stake in the company as it develops its Julimar nickel discovery in Western Australia and potentially builds a chemicals plant, its CEO said.

"We have had preliminary discussions with major automakers in North America and Europe," CEO Alex Dorsch told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that it was also having discussions with chemicals makers and mining companies.

"We are aiming to transact this year," he said on the sidelines of a commodity conference in Singapore.

The Julimar nickel project, one of the biggest nickel sulphide finds in recent years, also contains copper and palladium.

The site is only 70 km (43.5 miles) north-east of state capital Perth, in contrast to Western Australia's many remote mines, meaning it is near infrastructure and a skilled workforce.

Julimar is not expected to enter production until 2028. The search for an investor comes as automakers including Volkswagen VOWG.DE and Stellantis STLAM.MI are investing directly in miners to secure supply of minerals critical to electric vehicle batteries.

Volkswagen said last month that it wanted to meet half its global battery needs through its own production over the longer term.

Miners are also looking for nickel supplies as they set up processing plants, often with the help of generous government subsidies, seeking to add value, boost margins and diversify supply chains away from China.

Also near Perth, BHP Group (BHP) is looking for more nickel to feed its Nickel West sulphate plant while lithium-nickel miner IGO (IGO) is considering building a nickel sulphate plant in the same area.