Antam records Q2 nickel, gold production increase
Friday, August 1 2003 - 02:16 AM WIB
Antam said during the quarter it produced 2,629 tonnes of contained nickel in ferronickel, a 46 percent increase compared to previous quarter and 69 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year.
Ferronickel sales increased 88 percent in 2Q 03 to 3,010 tons of contained nickel in ferronickel. Sales volume was higher than production volume as Antam reduced its contained nickel in ferronickel inventory to 424 tons. The increase in sales is attributed to the increase in production. The sales as at the end of the first half of 2003 reached 4,612 tons.
Antam expects to operate at near capacity for the remaining two quarters of 2003. Antam?s ferronickel sales earned Rp205 billion in revenue, an increase of 76 percent over the first quarter. The average realized nickel price remained flat at US$3.77 per pound.
Production of high-grade nickel ore reached 918,912 wet metric ton (wmt), a 43 percent increase compared to Q1 2003 and a 25 percent increase compared to last. The increase was due to higher volume of ore treated.
The company?s gold production during the quarter was 1,076 kilograms, a slight 4 percent increase compared to previous quarter and 25 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year. (alex)