Inco to use HPAL technology to boost nickel production
Thursday, September 14 2006 - 02:34 AM WIB
The company's president and CEO Arif S. Siregar said in Jakarta Wednesday that the company would need about US$2.5 billion in new investment to adopt the technology which would be able to process lower grade nickel ores.
He said that part of the funds would be obtained from the company's own funds and the remainders from majority shareholders Inco Limited and Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Ltd.
"The plan is under review," he was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia as saying, adding that on Sept. 22, he would lead the company's team to join the presentation of the technology in Brisbane, Australia.
He said that in the initial stage, the company would build a HPAL-based processing unit in the company's Sorowako mining site, with a capacity of about 20,000 tons. "It is part of the company's five year plan. If it is successful, we will also develop the technology in other mining sites,".
Inco has reduced its 2006 production forecast from 169 million pounds of nickel-in-matte to 167 million pounds, due to fire that caught the transformer of one of the four furnaces in May.
Inco Limited has 61 percent shares in PT Inco, a publicly-listed nickel miner that operates a nickel mining complex in Sorowako, South Sulawesi. (*)