Antam's Ferronickel smelter remains closed: Report
Tuesday, July 31 2001 - 11:57 AM WIB
State miner PT Aneka Tambang's ferronickel smelter remains closed after a minor explosion and the company expects to issue a full report on the cause of explosion next week, Antam spokesman Dohar Siregar quoted by Dow Jones newswire as saying Tuesday.
Dohar said by next week, the company may also be able to issue its contingency plan for covering its sale obligations during the smelter repair.
"We don't know how long it's going to take for the repair yet," he said, but added the company has completed 95 percent of the investigation on the cause of explosion.
Antam's first ferronickel smelter, known as FeNI I, was closed after a minor explosion July 17. The smelter was running at 420 metric tons a month, and all output was sold every month.
The other smelter, with capacity of 5,500 tons/year, is unaffected and running at full capacity, Siregar said. Both smelters are located in Pomalaa, Southeast Sulawesi.(*)