Takeover target Mincor Resources has told its shareholders to wait for a better offer after mining billionaire Andrew Forrest lobbed a $760 million bid for one of Western Australia’s biggest nickel producers.

Shares in the Perth-based Mincor shot up 41 per cent, or 43 cents, to $1.47 a share on Tuesday, well above the $1.40 a share offer put on the table by Forrest’s privately owned Wyloo Metals.

Nickel, long used in steel alloys, is also a vital component in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries and has been touted as a crucial metal to help decarbonise the global economy.

Mincor chief executive Gabrielle Iwanow said its nickel sulphide assets near Kambalda in WA’s Goldfields region had value for both miners and processors involved in battery and critical minerals.

“We are in a world where the adoption of electric vehicles and industrial decarbonisation continues to increase demand for high-grade nickel sulphides,” he said.

“As Mincor approaches full ramp up in mining, and continues to pursue its highly prospective exploration opportunities, we believe that this strategic value will continue to grow.”

Mincor’s production, restarted in 2022, is sent to a concentrator at Kambalda, which in turn supplies BHP’s nickel smelter in Kalgoorlie.

The ageing smelter has a monopoly in WA, processing concentrate from BHP’s mines, Mincor and IGO.

In early 2022, IGO and Wyloo launched a joint feasibility study into developing their own nickel processing facility in WA. If they did, BHP could be left with an underutilised smelter.