Vale Says Receiving Saudi Arabian Delegation In Sorowako

JAKARTA - PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (INCO) admitted that he had received a visit from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) at the High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) Sorowako smelter project, South Sulawesi.

INCO President Director Bernardus Irmanto said the visit of the KSA delegation actually took place some time ago and was the initial assessment. Anto said that Bernardus' nickname, KSA, did have an interest in exploring opportunities to invest in Indonesia.

"We received a delegation from the KSA a few months ago. Now they are interested in exploring it," he told the media crew in Jakarta quoted on Tuesday, July 29.

However, Anto said there had been no further talks and agreements. During the visit, the KSA delegation only asked Vale to present a number of projects and the sustainable mining practices that Vale had carried out so far.

"They also appreciate that the practice is good. Then the business potential is good, but only limited. There has been no further discussion. No one has been targeted yet," he explained.

Furthermore, Anto said, Vale does have a relationship with KSA. He explained that the company owned by KSA, Manara Mineral, owns a share of Vale Canada Limited of 10 percent. For this reason, he continued, Vale Canada and KSA have had relationships that have existed for a long time.

"It has happened. That happened first. So Manara Minerals became a shareholder of 10 percent of Vale Canada," he said.

Previously this was stated by the Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita who said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed interest in participating in working on the mineral downstream project carried out by Vale.

"They have already spoken about MIND ID and Vale, where they will explore there is also interest in participation in Vale and MIND ID operations," Agus told reporters, Wednesday, 16