Indosmelt, Newmont reach deal on SPA for copper concentrate

By Bambang Atmaja

Smelting company PT Indosmelt and copper and gold producer PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the supply of copper concentrate for the former.

The agreement was signed by Indosmelt?s President Director Natsir Mansyur and NNT?s President Director Martiono Hadiano at JW Marriot Hotel in Jakarta.

Under the agreement, Nasir said, NTT would supply about 30 percent of Indosmelt?s concentrate need which is estimated to reach about 400,000 tons per year. The firm plans to build its smelter in either Maros or Pangkep Districts of South Sulawesi.

?Today, it is clear that Newmont has been ready to supply raw material. Hence, we will speed up the construction of the smelter,? he said.

Natsir said the groundbreaking of the smelter was scheduled for January 2014 and it was projected to kick off production in 2017. The project is estimated to cost US$1.5 billion, he said.

Indosmelt expected other mining firms of the country to fulfill the rest 70 percent of the smelter?s concentrate needs, said Natsir.

Once the smelter has come into production, it is expected to produce 120,000 tons of cathode and 20 tons of gold per year, he said.

?They will be sold at the domestic market and overseas,? he said.

With regards power supply to the smelter, Natsir said, the company expected to sign a MoU with state owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara later this month on the supply of 100 MW of power.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon