Antam foresees nickel output to slump in 2014 due to ban
Tuesday, January 14 2014 - 02:59 AM WIB
IDX-listed mining firm PT Aneka Tambang forecast its nickel output to plunge by about 87 percent this year compared with that of last year, as the firm would limit production only for domestic consumption following the implementation of mineral ores export ban on Jan. 12, an official of the firm said.
Tri Hartono, the company?s corporate secretary, said that PT Antam would only produce about 1.5 million tones nickel ores this year compared with 11.5 million tons last year.
?Last year most of our production was exported. For this year, it is only for the processing at our smelter in Pomalaa (Southeast Sulawesi),? he told Petromindo.com as saying on Monday.
Indonesia slapped ban on export on a range of unprocessed mining products in an attempt to boost domestic downstream sector.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak