Visiting Vale's Mine, Minister Of Energy And Mineral Resources Asks To Increase Production And Downstream Nickel
JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif appreciated the management of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk's nickel mine in Sorowako, South Sulawesi (South Sulawesi).
"We give our appreciation to the management of PT Vale Indonesia who has continued to optimize the processing of our resources, especially nickel, so that it can become one of the leading (in nickel mining)," said Minister Arifin on the sidelines of his visit. Sunday 14 August.
The series of working visits of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources began with a review of the processing plant to the mining and reclamation area.
Furthermore, Minister Arifin asked Vale to increase the production of processed nickel derivatives downstream in order to provide more optimal added value as well as increase investment and also create massive job opportunities for the surrounding population.
"Earlier, we have discussed with management how in the future Indonesia can also have an industry to produce nickel powder. There is not much nickel in the world. We have nickel, why don't we make it from core to purified nickel at once," said the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources to Vale Indonesia ranks.
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Vale Indonesia currently has a nickel processing and refining facility in Sorowako with a capacity of 70,000 tons of nickel matte.
In addition to the existing project, Vale plans to build three new smelters. First, the nickel reduction kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) processing facility with an estimated production of 73,000 tons in the form of FeNi (ferronickel) in Morowali, Central Sulawesi.
Second, the Pomalaa High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) plant construction project is located in Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, with a potential production capacity of 120,000 tons.
The project for the construction of nickel processing and refining facilities integrated with mining in Central Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi has been designated as a national strategic project (PSN).
Lastly, the plan to build the HPAL plant, which is the Sorowako smelter expansion project, with a production capacity target of around 60 kilotons of nickel.