Antam finds new nickel mine with deposit of 1 million tons

Gold and nickel miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) has discovered about 1 million tons of nickel deposits in its mine concession in Buton island, Southeast Sulawesi, the company?s geologist team have said.

The head of the team Wawan Tarman said in the provincial capital Kendari over the weekend that the nickel reserves were discovered in the company?s concession area in Wulu, Sikeli, Kabaena and East Kabaena districts in Buton.

According to him, the nickel deposits found in these areas are equal to the amount of the nickel reserves at the company?s main nickel mine in Pomalaa, another regency in Southeast Sulawesi, which has been operated by the company since 1962.

He said that the new nickel mine would be developed into five sub-operational units.

The team, which started the exploration in the Buton mine in 1999, is now preparing for the mapping of the mineral resources.

Aneka Tambang, which is controlled by the government, produce nickel from Pomalaa and gold in West Java. The company expects to sell about 10,300 tons of nickel and 4,100 tons of gold this year.(*)