Cakra completes land acquisition for smelter

By Thomas Sembiring

IDX-listed PT Cakra Mineral Tbk has completed land acquisition for its ferronickel smelter project in Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi.

?Land acquisition has been completed in Konawe,? President Director Dexter Sjarif to Petromindo.com on Wednesday, adding the size of the lands that have been acquired by the firm is 30 ha.

While land acquisition has been completed, the firm thus far has no plan to start construction in the near future in view of the weak nickel market condition. The construction will possibly started at the end of this year, he said.

?The joint venture said it?s better to wait until the end of the year because the nickel index is quite weak,? he said

In June 2014, the firm announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese mining firm China Zhe Jiang Baoli Mining Co Ltd (ZIBM) to jointly develop the smelter. Dexter said on Wednesday the MoU is still in place, but the firm is also eying a potential cooperation with another Chinese firm, Zhejiang Jinfeng New Energy Tech.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon