Vale suggests incentives for smelter projects

By Tri Subhki R

IDX-listed nickel producer PT Vale Indonesia Tbk suggests the government to provide incentives to help accelerate the construction of domestic smelter projects, instead of relaxing the current mineral ores export ban policy.

"To support the ongoing and planned smelter development in the current weak commodity prices, the government should provide incentives among others permitting, tax and build infrastructure and power plant," PT Vale's President Director Nico Kanter said to Petromindo.com recently.

He was responding to statements from some officials that the government was planning to relax the current export ban policy to allow miners raise export proceeds to help finance smelter projects.

The export ban policy was introduced by the previous administration early in 2014 as mandated by the 2009 Mining Law in a bid to generate greater value from the country?s minerals by pushing miners to develop domestic smelters.

Progress of the smelter projects, however, has been quite slow due to various problems, with Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said stating that some smelter projects are unlikely to be able to meet the 2017 completion deadline.

Vale previously said that the government must maintain the mineral ores export ban policy to help avoid further price decline amid oversupply situation.

Niko added that the current export ban policy has succeeded in helping to grow in-country nickel smelter industry.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak