Sulawesi Mining to build nickel smelter

PT Sulawesi Mining Investment, a joint venture between a Chinese company and a local firm, plans to build a nickel smelter in Central Sulawesi, next year with an investment of about US$1 billion.

?We are now looking for the right location for the nickel processing project,? Halim Mina, the president of Bintangdelapan Group, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He said that the company would receive both technology and funding from its Chinese partner to build the nickel smelter which would have a processing capacity of about 38,000 tons a year.

Bintangdelapan has a 45 percent stake in Sulawesi Mining, while its Chinese partner Dingxin Group holds the remaining 55 percent. Sulawesi Mining has a nickel concession area of about 47,000 hectares in Morowali. Central Sulawesi. This year, the company plans to produce about 200,000 tons of nickel, which will be exported to China. (*)