Well Harvest Winning makes first alumina export

PT Well Harvest Winning Alumina Refinery (WHW AR) on Monday made the first export shipment of smelter grade alumina (SGA) amounting to 50,000 tons to Shandong, China from its alumina refinery in Kendawangan, Ketapang, West Kalimantan province, the firm said in a statement.

The shipment was launched by WHW AR?s representative Alan Budihardja, Deputy General Manager Li Yu Yong and Winning?s representative Li Wen Jun.

?The maiden export is part of our efforts to show to the world the quality of domestic product, particularly the product of WHW AR,? WHW AR?s Director Li Mu Ming said.

Li Mu Ming said the delivery of the alumina products from a special terminal owned by the firm to barges started on Aug. 1, 2016. From there, the products were taken to two box-type mother vessels, each with the capacity of 28,000 tons, which will carry the products to China in an estimated 8-10 day-long trip. Aside from the domestic market, WHW AR?s target markets are Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern markets.

?Indonesia is a challenging place for alumina business, particularly alumina refinery business. Aside from large size of lands, an alumina refinery needs huge power, up to 160 M, to produce two million tons of alumina (per year). Still, refinery projects are the evidence of the independence of Indonesian?s mining industry that is oriented to the downstream sector,? Li Mu Ming said.

WHW AR is a pioneer refinery in Indonesia producing SGA with around 98 percent quality. The feedstock is sourced from the bauxite mine owned by Harita Group, a holder of bauxite IUP holder. WHW AR has built infrastructures with installed production capacity of 1 million tons per year and the firm will increase the capacity to 2 million tons in 2018.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon