Inco, Antam close to reach agreement over a South Sulawesi mining project

Nickel mining company PT Inco is close to completing a cooperation agreement with the state-owned general mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) to develop Inco's nickel mining site in Pomalaa, South Sulawesi province.

"We'll meet again in early January, which will possibly be the final meeting to reach agreement to cooperate in the development of Inco site in Pomalaa," a source at Inco told Petromindo.com.

The source declined to provide details.

He only said that the project was very important to both companies. He pointed out that Antam's nickel reserves was no longer as high as in the previous year, which makes it important for the company to agree with the Inco proposal.

He added that the cooperation agreement would also be welcomed by the local administration because the development of the mining site would provide the government with royalty income. (R. Amoros)