2022 has been dramatic for the company. In March, the stock...

2022 has been dramatic for the company. In March, the stock plummeted on speculation regarding a short position in LME nickel held by Tsingshan and the implications this had for you.

Must have been a stressful time.

“It obviously did impact us, but it actually didn’t impact Tsingshan or their operations in any way — production was unaffected, payments, cashflow were unaffected,” Werner says.

“Tsingshan worked themselves out of the situation fairly quickly, in an orderly manner.

“While at one point the short position looked to be pretty large, $US1bn, you need to put it into the context of Tsingshan’s revenues, which were $US53bn last year.

“For us, we were never concerned, but there was some angst in the market, people trying to work out what it all meant for Tsingshan.”

In one of your recent presentations, you talk about risks — one of them being your heavy reliance on the relationship with Tsingshan. Do you need to diversify your customer base?

“The short to that is no,” Werner says.

“Tsingshan is the largest stainless-steel producer globally. They need all the NPI that we produce, they pay the market price with very good payment terms.

“We do have flexibility to sell elsewhere, but there is really no benefit to that.”

Does your current valuation reflect your status as pending top 10 global producer?

Angel and Oracle will establish NIC as a top 10 global producer. Pic: Nickel Industries.

“I believe we are undervalued. We were $1.80 in March, then there was a short squeeze in the LME nickel market; and since then, the market across the board has come off,” Werner says.

“We have now eight RKEF lines operating, and another four lines coming online soon.

“Add to that are our further growth opportunities with Tsingshan.

“There is a lot of value in Nickel Industries as a stock.

“If you look at what is happening amongst other ASX listed nickel companies, it is really growth by expensive acquisition.

“We have the luxury of cheap acquisitions plus all the guarantees that come from our relationship with Tsingshan.”