Investors have added nearly $300 million to the value of Mirabela Nickel since the start of the month on hopes its flagship Brazilian mine is finally starting to deliver on its promise.
A little over 12 months since mining at Santa Rita began, analysts say there are signs Mirabela is making progress on overcoming the production problems that have plagued the project.
The change in sentiment - partly fuelled by good production figures for October and November - has sent Mirabela shares 34 per cent higher in the past two weeks, swelling its market capitalisation by $282 million to just over $1 billion.
Argonaut Securities analyst Troy Irvin said: "Although one swallow doesn't make a summer, Mirabela's recently improved production data for October and November is a step in the right direction.
"In particular, the improved plant recoveries demonstrate that the ramp-up challenges presented by the transitional ore can be overcome, with the longer-term prize intact, that is, a low-cost, long-life, large disseminated nickel sulphide asset.
"Looking further ahead, once the mine is on track with consistent production metrics, the company can reinvigorate the forgotten exploration effort."
BMO Capital Markets analyst David Radclyffe said the miner's improved operational performance was encouraging but "constancy really needs to be demonstrated over several quarters".
Billed as the world's third-biggest open-pit nickel mine, Santa Rita's slower-than-expected production ramp-up has led to cost blowouts and forced Mirabela back to the equity market.