PT Inco to start delivery of nickel ore to Antam’s smelting facilities in June

Publicly listed nickel miner PT International Nickel Indonesia Tbk (PT Inco) is scheduled to start delivery of nickel ore to smelting facilities operated by state-owned diversified mining firm PT Antam Tbk in Pomalaa, Southeast Sulawesi, in June this year.

“We have targeted to deliver up to 500,000 tons of nickel ore to Antam’s facilities by end of 2005,” PT Inco president Bing Tobing told Petromindo.Com Wednesday.

PT Inco and Antam have signed a Cooperative Resources Agreement to develop a total of 10 million tons of nickel deposits within the Contract of Work area held by PT Inco in East Pomalaa, Kolaka regency.

The development of PT Inco’s East Pomalaa nickel deposits is an assurance of nickel ore feed for Antam’s smelting facilities following a depletion of nickel reserves at Antam’s Pomalaa mines.

Bing said PT Inco planned to boost East Pomalaa’s nickel ore production to one million tons per year in 2006.

Antam operates two smelting plants with capacity to produce approximately 5,500 tons of ferronickel each. Last September, Antam shutdown the second smelter, the FeNi II, for a five-month overhaul program.

Antam is also constructing another smelter, the FeNi III, and is expected to start operation in the first quarter of 2006. This plant will consume around one million tons of nickel ore per year to produce around 15,000 tons of ferronickel. (godang)