Antam to study fourth ferronickel smelting facility

State-owned mining company PT Antam Tbk said Monday it would conduct a feasibility study to build another ferronickel smelting facility either in Sulawesi or the Maluku islands, in an effort to increase its sales.

Antam?s president Dedi Aditya Sumanegara said the fourth smelter will require an investment of around $650 million. The smelter, expected to be in operation by 2010, will produce 30,000 metric tons of nickel annually.

Dedi said Antam expected to set up a joint venture with foreign partners for the new smelter, in which the company expects to own a 60 percent stake.

Antam operates two smelting plants with capacity to produce approximately 5,500 tons of ferronickel each. However, Antam halted the commissioning of FeNi II until end of August 2005 for safety reasons.

The company is also constructing another smelter, the FeNi III, and is expected to start operation in the first quarter of 2006. The FeNi III will consume around one million tons of nickel ore per year to produce around 15,000 tons of ferronickel. (godang)