Centaurus raises $40 million from Glencore and CNGR, sells Jaguar output for five years

Key Facts

Centaurus Metals said on October 28, 2026, that it had signed binding agreements to supply nickel concentrate from its Jaguar project to Glencore and CNGR, alongside the companies’ commitment to invest a total of $40 million in equity in Centaurus. The company said the deal combines direct financing with long-term offtake contracts for the concentrate, advancing development of the project in Brazil’s Carajás district. The two new agreements, together with an earlier contract with Glencore, cover all expected concentrate production during the first five years of operations. Managing Director Darren Gordon said the agreements and investment partnership represented a “major validation” of the Jaguar project and its position as a new source of high-quality, low-cost nickel sulphide concentrate for global markets. The company has not announced a final investment decision and said its debt financing package was still being completed.

Under each new agreement, Centaurus is required to supply at least 20,000 dry metric tonnes a year of nickel concentrate grading 30% to each buyer for five years, starting in the first half of 2029. Each contract represents about 25% of expected annual production, meaning the two new agreements together cover roughly half of output. They join Glencore’s earlier contract for 20,000 dry metric tonnes a year, bringing the total contracted volume to all expected concentrate production during the first five years. The company estimates this volume is equivalent to about 22,500 tonnes of nickel a year over that period. Under the arrangement, volumes are split between Glencore and CNGR under the two new contracts, while Glencore’s separate commitment under the earlier agreement remains in place.

Pricing under the new contracts is linked to the London Metal Exchange cash nickel settlement price, with a variable payable tied to the prevailing nickel price. The parties also agreed on the payables for the copper and cobalt contained in the concentrate. Centaurus estimated the net sales value of material covered by the two new agreements at about $900 million over five years, based on current nickel prices. This estimate relates to sales of volumes covered by the two new contracts and does not represent the $40 million equity investment. The company said the equity financing and supply agreements would help complete the funding package and advance the project towards a final investment decision, describing the senior debt financing process as “advanced.”

Glencore and CNGR will each receive an equity investment allocation worth $20 million, from the total $40 million commitment. The shares will be issued at A$0.425 each, a 5% premium to the volume-weighted average price over the 20 days before the supply and subscription agreements were signed. These terms link the financing to Centaurus’ share value, while giving the two contracted companies a direct stake in the company in addition to their role as concentrate buyers. The new contracts target supply commencement in the first half of 2029 and will run for five years. Each party retains the right to terminate its agreement if the first shipment of concentrate has not been delivered to it by the end of 2029.

Centaurus signed an earlier five-year supply agreement with Glencore in March 2026 for 20,000 dry metric tonnes a year of high-grade nickel concentrate, with supply scheduled to begin in early 2029. The agreement designated Canada as the concentrate’s primary destination for processing at Glencore’s Sudbury smelter and specified a nickel grade of 32%. The Jaguar project is in Brazil’s Carajás district, and the company’s estimates of its potential draw on broader technical studies beyond the current sales contracts. The feasibility study published in July 2024 estimated average production of 18,700 tonnes of nickel a year over an initial mine life of 18 years, with after-tax operating cash flow of $2.11 billion. The study also estimated pre-production capital expenditure of about $371 million, after-tax net present value of A$997 million and an internal rate of return of 31%.

Centaurus reported in May 2025 that an engineering optimisation study estimated open-pit proved and probable ore reserves at 52.0 million tonnes, grading an average 0.78% nickel, with average annual production of 22,600 tonnes during the first seven years of full operations. In the market, Glencore shares trading under the ticker GLNCY closed at 14.41 on October 27, 2026, according to EL7 data. In the nickel market, an S&P Global Energy report on October 14 forecast a decline in Asian prices in the fourth quarter of 2026, citing weak demand from the stainless steel and NMC battery sectors, and cut its average 2026 three-month LME nickel price forecast to $17,311 a metric tonne. Indonesia’s mining minister said, according to a Reuters report published on October 7, that the country was considering a temporary halt to new facilities processing semi-finished nickel in an effort to support prices, attributing the price decline to an oversupply of partially processed products. The next step for the Jaguar project is to complete the financing package and make an investment decision, while the contract terms give buyers the right to terminate if the first shipment has not arrived by the end of 2029.