Antam to cut 2009 ferro-nickel output

IDX-listed state miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk ANTM.AX expects its 2009 ferro-nickel output to fall to 12,000 tonnes, against a target output of 17,000 tonnes in 2008, CEO Alwin Syah Loebis said on Wednesday.

Loebis said that the decrease in output was partly due to the planned maintenance of its Fe Ni III smelter. The production cut is also part of the state miner's strategy to anticipate falls in commodity prices.

Loebis said other efforts to cut cost included a plan to build 150 megawatt coal-fired power plant, starting next year, to reduce the use of more expensive diesel fuel.

The construction of the plant may take three years.

Loebis also said that Antam had dropped plan to acquire shares in Martable fold project in North Sumatra and in ASX-listed miner Herald Resources.(bernard/denny)