Antam allocates Rp 2t for capex

IDX-listed mining firm PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) has allocated about Rp 2 trillion for capital expenditure this year to help finance three major projects, Finance Director Dimas Wikan Pramudhito said on as reported by Kontan Wednesday.

The company?s three key projects include an anode slime smelter, smelter grade alumina, and a ferronickel plant.

Antam is developing a US$40 million facility in Gresik, East Java, to process anode slime into gold. The company has been exporting the by product of its copper processing.

For the smelter grade alumina project in Mempawah, West Kalimantan, Antam is still in the process of seeking additional partner for the project. The state-controlled company has signed an agreement with state-owned aluminum producer PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) to set up a joint venture company that would develop the SGA project.

For the ferronickel plant in Halmahera Timur, construction progress per October 2015 has reached 6 percent, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday. The plant, the first phase of which is expected to be completed in 2018, will have a capacity of 13,500-15,000 TNi per year.

Antam has raised about Rp 5.37 trillion including Rp 3.5 trillion from the government as the major shareholder, from a rights issue last year. Dimas said that part of the proceeds (Rp 3.5 trillion) will be used to help finance the ferronickel plant project. (*)