Kereta Kencana to build smelter early 2014

By Hiski Darmayana

Bauxite mining company PT Kereta Kencana Bangun Perkasa plans to start the construction of a smelter facility to process bauxite ores into alumina in early 2014.

?The initial production capacity of the smelter will be 50,000 tons of alumina per year, which will require about 150,000 tons of bauxite ores supply,? company advisor, Ladjiman Damanik told Petromindo.com in Jakarta recently.

Ladjiman added that the company plans to team up with an alumina producer from China to build the smelter. He, however, could not disclose the name of the Chinese firm.

?Our smelter is scheduled to operate in 2016,? he said. The smelter will be built near the company?s 179 hectares mining concession in Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands. The company this year targets bauxite ores production of 3 million tons, most of which exported to China.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak