Turkish billionaire Robert Yuksel Yildirim is on a $2-billion hunt for nickel mines, betting that the battery metal’s price will rebound and that the West will want those supplies to cut its reliance on China.

After making his fortune in chrome and shipping under family conglomerate Yildirim Holding, he spun off those businesses this year into CoreX Holding. The new venture already has some nickel-processing facilities, and with prices near a multiyear low, Yildirim sees now as a good time to scale up.

Nickel has slid as Chinese firms ramped up output in Indonesia, leading to fire sales from some major miners as their higher-cost assets struggle to compete. Yildirim thinks he can make such assets profitable by improving operations, and initially focusing on products with higher nickel content than Chinese nickel pig iron. He expects nickel prices to recover in the next two to three years.

“We want to come to the nickel market when people are exiting,” the 65-year-old said in an interview in his Istanbul office. “Eventually it will come up and find an equilibrium.”

His foray into nickel also comes at a time when critical metals are increasingly under the spotlight as Western nations view supplies as a matter of national security, especially as the global energy transition stokes fears of potential future shortages. China is the key player in the nickel market, both through its own domestic industry and investments by its firms in places like Indonesia.

He has put about $500-million into the nickel push so far, which includes CoreX’s first acquisition — a majority stake in Ivory Coast miner Compagnie Minière Du Bafing in December — and ferronickel plants in North Macedonia and Kosovo that were transfered from the family holding firm. Other parts of his existing metals business include ferroalloy plants in Sweden and Russia, a US chrome and chemicals unit and mining companies in Kazakhstan.

With $2-billion earmarked for more deals, Yildirim said he’s in talks to buy six mines in Colombia, Guatemala and Africa, without elaborating. As the portfolio grows, he plans to order newbuild vessels to cover the supply chain from production to shipping.

The aim is to offer nickel buyers in Europe and the US an alternative to Chinese-supplied products. That will initially be in the stainless steel industry due to the crossover with Yildirim’s chrome business, before expanding to nickel used in batteries, and then to metals including copper, gold and zinc.

China has become a leader in many critical minerals used in everything from electric-vehicle batteries to wind turbines. Western governments are trying to reduce their dependence on those supplies — including through boosting domestic output and striking trade alliances.

To help fund the nickel deals, the billionaire has started talks with long-term investors, and is targeting those including infrastructure and sovereign wealth funds, private equity and family offices.

“I’m not young, I don’t have too much time to waste,” Yildirim said. “So I need to focus on the mid-size or big size projects.”

ANGLO-MMG DEAL

CoreX had its first major setback earlier this year, when it lost out to MMG in a bid to buy Anglo American’s nickel business in Brazil. Yildirim said he offered $900-million with financing from UBS Group — much higher than the transaction value — and got as far as negotiating the terms of a deal, but Anglo hasn’t explained to why his offer was rejected.

When disposing of assets, it’s not uncommon for sellers to prefer more established miners where there’s more certainty around financing. MMG, controlled by state-owned China Minmetals, has mines across the globe, including the giant Las Bambas copper mine in Peru.

Yildirim bemoaned the decision, calling it a “game-changer in nickel history". Anglo said it can’t discuss those involved in the process.

“China has grabbed this very important asset from the West to take to China and Anglo is the company letting this happen,” Yildirim said.