Construction of the Fenix project in Guatemala, which by one estimate contains enough nickel to feed world demand for the metal for two to three years, is expected to resume once HudBay Minerals Inc. becomes its owner.

HudBay said Monday it would buy Fenix's current owner, Skye Resources Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, for Canadian $460 million ($454 million) in stock. Skye suspended the project earlier this year because of adverse credit market conditions that had made financing difficult.

Winnipeg, Manitoba-based HudBay was widely seen as planning such an move. It has been sitting on about C$750 million ($740 million) in cash, and its new chief executive officer, Allen Palmiere, vowed when taking over the role in January that he would aggressively...