PT Inco to carry out pilot testing on coal utilization
Thursday, April 27 2006 - 09:12 AM WIB
Publicly listed nickel miner PT International Nickel Indonesia is studying the possibility of using pulverized coal as fuel for its smelter to cut costs amid soaring crude oil prices, a company official said Thursday.
?Pilot testing begins this month. It may take one to two years before we can use it (coal),? company president director Bing Tobing told reporters without elaborating.
PT Inco?s production costs in the first quarter of 2006 increased by 27 percent to $2.76 per pound from the same period last year mainly due to high oil prices.
PT Inco has said an increase of oil price of US$1 per barrel would be translated to an additional cash cost of about $0.02 of per pound nickel in matte. By using coal, the company expects to cut production costs by $0.15 to $0.20 a pound.
The company estimates production in 2006 at 167 million pounds, slightly down compared to 168.4 million pounds last year. (godang)