This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 10:23 a.m. on Dec. 26, 2025.
Spear, a KOSDAQ-listed company, has put its nickel smelter investment plan on hold. Spear, which supplies special alloy products to the global aerospace company SpaceX, had been preparing to invest directly in a smelter to secure supply stability. The company said that due to the massive expense, it plans to pursue the investment again after the company grows.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 26th, Spear recently halted fundraising for an investment in a nickel smelter in Indonesia.
Spear is one of SpaceX's primary vendors and, excluding local vendors in the United States, is the only overseas company with a supply contract with SpaceX. While most contract disclosures list the counterparty as a "global aerospace launch company," the company officially confirmed the fact when it identified the counterparty as SpaceX in a 77 billion won special alloy supply contract disclosed in Jul.
However, unlike other vendors that directly manufacture and supply materials and parts needed for SpaceX's reusable launch vehicles, it only plays a role in distributing products that require high-mix, low-volume production. Without its own production facilities, when a client requests products, it searches for production corporations that meet the specifications and performance requirements and acts as a kind of purchasing agent to ensure on-time delivery. In the aerospace industry, a vendor that manages the supply chain in this way is called a "supply vendor."
Because Spear has to manage multiple production corporations, it had been preparing to invest in a nickel smelter in Indonesia to secure raw material supply stability. Nickel is known to be a key raw materials and supplies for the special alloys used by SpaceX. The plan was to stably manage prices and supply volumes in case the global nickel supply chain becomes unstable. The investment funds were to be secured through a project fund and mezzanine issuance.
However, Spear's nickel smelter investment plan has been suspended for now due to the burden of investment funds amounting to the 300 billion won range.
The market is watching what impact the suspension of this investment plan will have. It is known that SpaceX requested Spear's nickel smelter investment decision, and some say the company may have halted an investment requested by an important client too easily. In Aug., Spear signed a 10-year supply contract totaling 1.544 trillion won with SpaceX. It is clear that it needs to establish a long-term nickel supply network. If the nickel supply chain becomes unstable and disrupts the supply contract with SpaceX, the fallout could be significant.
For this reason, some worry that Spear, which does not manufacture parts directly, could see its position shaken as a result of the suspension of the nickel smelter investment.
A source in the investment banking industry said, "Given Spear's history of issuing multiple correction disclosures on supply contracts in the past, it cannot be ruled out that the ongoing 10-year contract may also not be fulfilled," while adding, "Although various scenarios are indeed being discussed, my understanding is that Spear's standing with SpaceX is quite solid at present."