Antam to resume purchasing nickel ore from INCO

State owned mining firm PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) is in talks to purchase nickel ore from nickel mining firm PT International Nickel Indonesia (INCO), Kontan daily reported on Friday.

?We are negotiating on the price and volume,? Antam?s Corporate Secretary Bimo Budi Satriyo said.

Antam used to get ore supplies from INCO following the signing of the Cooperative Resources Agreement (CRA) by both firms in 2005. Under the agreement, Antam buys 1 million tons of nickel ore from INCO per year to be processed the state owned firm?s smelter in Pomalaa, Central Sulawesi.

In 2008, however, Antam stopped buying the ore for undisclosed reasons. Sources say the government told it to stop buying the ore in its bid to pressure INCO to build its own smelter to process the ore. Antam has since sourced its nickel ore from its mines on Halmahera Island in North Maluku. Antam finds it cheaper to get ore from INCO because the latter?s mines are located in Central Sulawesi, close to Antam?s smelter.

Antam has three smelters which needs a total of 1.4 million tons of nickel ore per year. (*)