Kapuas Prima completes commissioning of C. Kalimantan smelter
Monday, January 19 2026 - 06:22 AM WIB
By Calvin Purba
PT Kapuas Prima Coal Tbk (IDX: ZINC) has completed the hard commissioning of its lead (Pb) smelter operated by subsidiary PT Kapuas Prima Citra in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said.
“It has been completed. To my knowledge, it is already finished,” said Tri Winarno, Director General of Minerals and Coal at the ministry, on Wednesday (Jan. 14).
Kapuas Prima’s Operations Director Padli Noor separately confirmed that the hard commissioning phase has been completed.
“The lead smelter has just completed hard commissioning,” Padli told Petromindo on Thursday (Jan. 15).
The pyrometallurgical smelter has a processing capacity of 40,000 tonnes of lead concentrate per year and is designed to produce around 20,000 tonnes of lead bullion annually with a purity of 99.50%. Total investment in the facility amounts to about US$15 million.
Kapuas Prima is reviewing plans to upgrade the facility to lift output to as much as 100,000 tonnes of lead bullion per year, although the proposal is still under evaluation.
Read also : Kapuas Prima revenue stalls amid export permit, smelter woes
“We are still waiting for the final study,” Padli said.
The completion of hard commissioning follows a prolonged delay in commercial operations. The smelter underwent trial runs throughout 2023–2024 but suffered from technological inefficiencies, prompting the company to postpone full commercial production until September 2025 after repair works carried out between May and August 2025.
Operational challenges have weighed on the company’s financial performance. Kapuas Prima reported zero revenue in the first quarter of 2025, citing its inability to sell zinc and lead products due to delays in securing export approval letters from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Industry.
Once commercial operations begin, the company plans to channel lead concentrate output to its subsidiary’s smelter for processing.
Kapuas Prima, which mines zinc, lead, and iron ore, is also developing a zinc smelter at the Kumai Multi Energi Industrial Estate (KIKME) in West Kalimantan. The industrial estate was designated a National Strategic Project in 2024, and the company has said the project has attracted interest from potential investors that could accelerate construction and expand processing capacity for both lead and zinc.
Editing by Alexander Ginting