Australia's Jervois Mining said on Tuesday it would buy a nickel and cobalt refinery from a unit of Votorantim SA, one of Brazil's biggest diversified holding companies, as demand for metals used in batteries for electric vehicles grows.

The battery metals focused miner will buy the Sao Miguel Paulista refinery in Sao Paulo from Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio for 125 million reais ($22.1 million), it said in a statement.

The Brazilian refinery had a production capacity of 25,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) of nickel and 2,000 mtpa of cobalt before it was placed on care and maintenance in 2016.

Jervois said it would refine cobalt concentrate from its Idaho facility and was targeting first concentrate deliveries from the United States in mid-2022.