Petrokimia Gresik to facilitate construction of copper smelter

East Java-based fertilizer firm PT Petrokimia Gresik has allocated 30 hectares of land to facilitate the construction of a new copper smelter in the country, Kontan daily reported on Friday.

President Director Hidayat Nyakman said that two local investors have expressed interest to the proposal. He said that Petrokimia Gresik needs extra supply of sulfuric acid, a by-product of copper smelter, as raw material for the production of fertilizer.

Hidayat said that to produce 5 million tons per year of fertilizer, the company requires 1.7 million tons of sulfuric acid, about 500,000 tons of which are produced by itself, and the remainders purchased from local copper smelter PT Smelting Gresik, as well as from import.

Hidayat said that the company will become a minority shareholder in the planned smelter. He urges the two investors to quickly complete the feasibility study so that the company can choose which one will become its partner, and hopefully construction can start in 2014. (*)