Westwin Elements and metals trader Traxys have amended their existing agreements to give Westwin the option to extend nickel feedstock supply and refined-metal offtake arrangements for up to 22 years.
The framework builds on agreements announced in 2025. Under those arrangements, Traxys agreed to supply mixed hydroxide precipitate, or MHP, to Westwin’s planned commercial refinery and purchase refined nickel briquettes from the facility. The companies will work together to identify and secure additional feedstock sources, subject to Westwin’s approval.
Westwin is developing a commercial-scale Class 1 nickel refinery at the Belwood Industrial Site in Natchez, Mississippi. The company plans to invest $502 million over five years and produce 18,000 tonnes of Class 1 nickel annually during the project’s first phase, with commissioning targeted for 2029. The project has a completed bankable feasibility study and a long-term site lease, but construction has not started and still depends on financing, engineering, permitting and other requirements.
The Natchez facility is intended to build on Westwin’s 20-tonne-per-year demonstration plant in Lawton, Oklahoma, which has completed multiple production campaigns of on-specification nickel powder using nickel carbonyl refining technology. Westwin expects the first commercial phase to create 134 full-time jobs, with average annual pay of about $84,000.
Westwin CEO KaLeigh Long said the extended arrangement supports plans to scale production, secure feedstock and develop long-term markets. Traxys CEO Mark Kristoff said the longer framework could support additional supply and sales and may help Westwin’s development and financing plans. The agreement provides commercial continuity for the planned refinery, but the 22-year term and its potential value remain contingent on Westwin exercising the option and completing the project.