PT Inco nickel output up in Q2, sees 2006 output down

Canadian nickel miner Inco Limited reported Wednesday its Indonesian subsidiary PT International Nickel Indonesia (PT Inco) produced 39 million pounds of nickel-in-matte during the second quarter of 2006, an increase of 8.3 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

Inco Limited said PT Inco, however, would not be able to recover 8-9 million pounds of lost production in the second half of the year following fire that caught the transformer of one of the four furnaces in May.

PT Inco has reduced its 2006 production forecast from 167 million pounds of nickel-in-matte to between 158 and 159 million pounds, Inco Limited said.

PT Inco produced 164 million pounds last year.

Inco Limited has 61 percent shares in PT Inco, a publicly-listed nickel miner that operates a nickel mining complex in Sorowako, South Sulawesi.(denny)