Antam may team up with S. Korean firm to build fourth smelter

State nickel and gold miner PT. Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) said on Tuesday it was team up with South Korean potential joint venture partner to build its fourth ferronickel smelter, popularly known as FeNiIV.

?We are currently conducting feasibility studies on the plant, including to decide on the most feasible location, which will outside Pomaala, South East Sulawesi, where the Antam?s three smelters are located,? said Antam president Dedi Aditya Sumanegara.

He did not give the South Korean company name, but said the company will also act as off taker of the ferronickel produced from the smelter. He also refrained from disclosing when the project was expected to commence operations, but hinted that the smelter?s capacity would be bigger than Antam?s third smelter, which will commence operations in 2006 with ferronickel production capacity of 15,000 tons per annum.

Dedi said two locations that the company was considering were Donggi area in central Sulawesi, where it had abundant supply of natural gas and a certain area in Maluku, where it has geothermal source. ?The location must be close to energy source and also close to ore source,? he said. He further said the ore for the proposed FeNiIV plant would come from its Maluku reserves.(dino/alex)