Sandouville nickel refinery

In February 2022, Sibanye-Stillwater successfully concluded the €85 million transaction to acquire French mining group Eramet SA’s Sandouville hydrometallurgical nickel processing facilities near Le Havre, France’s second largest industrial port.

Sandouville has strategic access to extensive logistical infrastructure including shipping, rail and key motorways, supporting any future supply into the European end user markets. The Sandouville facilities currently include a hydrometallurgical nickel refinery with an annual production capacity of 12,000 tonnes of high-purity nickel metal, 4,000 tonnes of high-purity nickel salts and solutions and around 600 tonnes of cobalt chloride.

This acquisition will enable Sibanye-Stillwater to build a leading battery metals platform in Europe. It is seen as a low-risk entry into the nickel beneficiation business and our initial focus will be to ramp up throughput, as per existing plans. Sibanye-Stillwater continues to evaluate its options for the site, in parallel with existing operations, to target specific nickel battery metal products and unlock the full potential of these facilities. A detailed investment and development plan will be provided in due course.