Antam to boost capex in 2009

IDX-listed mining firm PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) plans Rp 3 trillion ($265.4 million) in capital expenditures (capex) this year, up three-fold on 2008, to position itself for an eventual recovery in commodity prices.

"We think that it is the best time to start our profitable investment, which may be sold when prices of commodities recover hopefully within the next 2-3 years," Alwin Syah Loebis said on Thursday.

The state miner said more than 80 percent of the spending, which will be funded from internal cash, will be used to further develop its plants, including improvements to its ferronickel smelter III in Pomalaa in southeast Sulawesi.

The firm's unaudited financial report showed actual capital expenditures last year were Rp 758 billion.

Loebis also said Antam expected ferronickel output to fall by 30 percent to 12,000 tons this year as prices for commodities and demand ease in the face of the global economic downturn.

"We assume the average nickel price this year will range from $11,000-12,000 per ton, from an average of $18,000 a ton last year," he said. (*)