Indotama to double ferromanganese output next month

By Bambang Atmaja

PT Indotama Ferro Alloys will double the ferromanganese output to 4,000 tons per month at its smelter in Purwakarta of West Java next month to meet rising demand, a senior official of the firm said.

The statement was made by a representative of the firm, Manalu (one name), at a gathering on Saturday in Jakarta to launch the Indonesian Manganese Entrepreneurs Association (ASPEMINDO).

?Next month, our other facility will start production of 2,000 tons per month. (That) the total output will be 4,000 tons per month,? he told Petromindo.com.

Manalu said that 1,000 tons per month of the output would be added to the supply to PT Krakatau Steel as the steelmaker needs to comply with higher steel demand from South Korea.

The rest would be sold to the market, he said.

Manalu said that the firm would require 12,000 tons of manganese ores per month to produce the 4,000 tons of ferromanganese production per month.

The company secures the ores from local miners and imports from Malaysia and Vietnam, he said.

This year, the firm has imported 22,000 tons of manganese ores from the countries as many miners have stopped mining the ores, mostly in eastern part of the country, said Manalu.

Elsewhere, he said that the company has backed down from an initial proposal to build smelters in West Nusa Tenggara Province due to the lack of electricity supply.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak