Centaurus signed a binding JV with Australian hydrometallurgy and mineral processing company Simulus Group over the project.

Simulus will have the right to earn up to 80% of the project in stages and will manage its development.

A key part of the agreement will require Simulus to deliver a scoping study within six months to give it an initial 21%, followed by a feasibility study progress report 12 months later to give Simulus 49%.

A definitive feasibility study is due within six months of the progress report and will give Simulus 70%.

The aim will be to deliver a low capital-intensity process design for a 250,000-750,000 tonne per annum project over at least a 10 to 15-year mine life.

Simulus can move to 80% by securing financing for the development of the project.

Simulus will be required to make two milestone payments: 1 million real (A$350,000) on the definition of a JORC resource; and 1.5 million real on grant and gazettal of a mining lease.

Centaurus will be free-carried through until development, but will provide Simulus with in-country support as required on a cost recovery basis.

Centaurus managing director Darren Gordon described the deal as a coup for the company and said it highlighted the potential of Itapitanga, despite its early stage.

"We are really excited to enter into this innovative joint venture agreement with one of the world's leading nickel-cobalt mineral development groups - which we believe is a genuine game-changer for the Itapitanga project," he said.

Gordon said the partnership brought together Centaurus' extensive Brazil experience with Simulus' process expertise.

"This is a great partnership which should ultimately give us the best possible chance of delivering a highly profitable project in the shortest period of time to take advantage of the favourable market outlook for nickel and cobalt," he said.

Itapitanga was discovered by Centaurus after a maiden drilling program in August that returned wide grades of up to 1.73% nickel and 0.19% cobalt.

Centaurus has set an exploration target of 35-45 million tonnes at 0.8-1.1% nickel, 0.07-0.12% cobalt and 18-30 grams per tonne scandium for 280,000-495,000t of contained nickel, 24,500-54,000t of cobalt and 965-2065t of scandium oxide.

Itapitanga, covering 50sq.km in Carajás, neighbours Anglo American's Jacaré deposit, which has a resource of 307Mt at 1.3% nickel and 0.13% cobalt, including a high-grade cobalt resource of 185Mt at 1.2% nickel and 0.18% cobalt.

The project just 110km from Vale's Onça-Puma nickel mine.

As part of the agreement, Centaurus and Simulus have agreed to jointly investigate other nickel laterite opportunities within 75km of Itapitanga or elsewhere in Brazil.

Simulus has experience working on other nickel laterite projects in Brazil.

"The Itapitanga project is of particular interest for us given its relatively high nickel-cobalt grades as well as other chemical characteristics that should lend the project to a process flowsheet with low process operating cost," Simulus MD Brett Muller said.

"We have a team with the required experience and resources to allow for the rapid evaluation of the project through the engineering phases and one which has worked on other nickel laterite projects in Brazil. When combined with Centaurus' in-country experience, we think we have all the makings of a strong partnership and great project."

Despite being heavily traded, Centaurus shares were unchanged at A0.7c, valuing the company at $16.1 million.