Vi Holding plans ferronickel, alumina smelters in RI
Wednesday, October 22 2014 - 01:46 AM WIB
The Russian firm plans to invest up to US$500 million in the ferronickel smelting project, The Jakarta Globe reported.
?A project that?s still being discussed by Vi Holding is a plan to enter the ferronickel industry in Indonesia, and produce ferronickel with the latest technology from Russia,? Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov said during his visit to Jakarta on Tuesday.
The plan is expected to be finalized in three years, according to Manturov.
However, Vi has not yet announced a local partner for the ferronickel project, or pick the location, he added.
In addition to ferronickel, Vi is also planning to build an alumina refinery plant in Kalimantan.
Kalimantan holds one of Indonesia?s biggest reserves of bauxite, which is the key ingredient in making alumina, a chemical compound made of aluminum and oxygen molecules.
This alumina will then be shipped to China for further processing in a Vi plant into aluminum.
?So far, Vi Holding has initiated its geological study [for the Kalimantan refinery], and is now in the final stages of the study,? Manturov said.
He also said that the Russian company had joined hands with Antam, an Indonesian state miner, as a local partner.
Antam corporate secretary Tri Hartono did not respond to the Jakarta Globe?s inquiry about the supposed partnership.
Apart from Vi, United Company Rusal ? an aluminum company from Russia ? has also announced plans to establish an alumina smelter in West Kalimantan.
Rusal signed a deal with Arbaya Energi, a local energy company, in February this year to build the smelter.
Both companies plan to invest up to $3 billion into the smelters.
According to Manturov, Rusal has recently started its geological and feasibility studies, and is forecast to start operations in four years.
Indonesia recently issued a regulation that bans some raw mineral exports, including nickel, as part of an effort to push for local processing in the country. (*)