Inco plans no immediate output boost
Thursday, January 11 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
Nickel producer PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco), a unit of Canadian Inco Ltd, said on Wednesday it planned no immediate output boost following the sinking of a ship carrying 2,200 tonnes of its nickel in matte.
An Inco spokesman in Jakarta said the company had already planned to boost its Indonesian output from 130 million pounds last year, but gave no figures.
``We had planned to increase our production above last year's (amount), but it is not related to what happened,'' Andre Daenuwy, director of public and shareholder relations, told Reuters.
Inco said the load, worth an estimated $13 million and which sank off Japan at the weekend, was insured. It represented about 3.3 percent of Inco's annual production in 2000.
It has said 80 percent of the nickel was bound for Inco TNC Ltd.'s refinery in Japan, and 20 percent was destined for Sumitomo Metal Mining .
Inco's annual production capacity is now 150 million pounds in nickel matte, following the completion of a new plant in 1999.
Inco reiterated it had no liability over the sinking.
``We don't have liability. The nickel was sold with freight on board (FOB) terms which means once the goods were on the ship, the risk is with the buyer,'' said Daenuwy.
Nickel in matte, an intermediate product, is sold by PT Inco mainly to the Japanese market. (*)