Gold Production Rises To Build HPAL Factory, This Is Sandiaga's Issuer Achievement In 2023

Share illustration (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk (MDKA) recorded a number of positive achievements in 2023.

The company, which is one of Saratoga's main portfolios, recorded an increase in gold production to 138,666 ounces (oz) in 2023, an increase of 11 percent on an annual basis. Meanwhile, the average price of gold sales also increased by 8 percent yoy at the level of 1,939 US dollars per oz.

In Saratoga's performance presentation, SRTG Investment Director Devin Wirawan said the decline in copper production by 35 percent yoy to 12,706 tons was due to a temporary delay in explosives shipments.

"Meski demikian, produksi tembaga sudah menunjukkan pemulihan pada 4Q23," ujarnya dalam keterangan kepada media yang dikutip Selasa 19 Maret.

Meanwhile, in nickel commodities, in 2023 nickel sales will reach 30,333 tons, while NPI production will increase by 68 percent yoy to 65,117 tons as a result of the start of the operation of the PT Zhao Hui Nickel (ZHN) smelter.

The Mineral Light Sulawesi (SCM) mine will supply about half of the nickel ore needs of the MBMA's smelter by 2024, reducing the impact of world nickel price fluctuations.

Then the shipment of SCM Mining ore jumped from 43,989 tons in the third quarter of 2023 to 2.9 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2023. SCM targets the sale of nickel ore of 15 million tons by 2024 with details of 4 million tons of saprolit and 11 million tons of limousine.

In April 2023, one of MDKA's subsidiaries, PT Merdeka Battery Materials Tbk. (MBMA) succeeded in completing the Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

"With a price of IDR 795 per share, the IPO has strong support from domestic and foreign investors, regional wealth funds and strategic investors," he continued.

The offer involved the issuance of 11.6 billion new shares, with a total new capital of Rp9.2 trillion, equivalent to 10.7 percent of the total outstanding shares.

On the same occasion Devin also explained a number of corporate actions carried out by MDKA, among others, MBMA has announced plans to develop the High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) factory in the Konawe Indonesia Industrial Estate in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The HPAL project will produce a total equivalent of 120 thousand tons of nickel per year which is divided into two stages. For the first stage, MBMA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ningbo Brunp Contemporary Amperex Co. Ltd., affiliated with Brunp CATL.

In June 2023, MBMA acquired 60 percent of its (40 percent Tsingshan) shares in PT Huaneng Metal Industry (HNMI) worth USD 75 million, a nickel high-quality nickel conversion facility belonging to Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP).

HNMI processes low-level nickelcurrency (LGNM) into HGNM which contains 70 percent of nickel. The annual production capacity is 50 thousand tons per year.

Then in September 2023, MBMA signed a definitive agreement with GEM to build a HPAL plant with a capacity of 30 thousand tons of nickel contained in the Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) per year.

The HPAL plant will be built at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) and operated under PT ESG New Energy Material (joint venture MBMA and GEM) with a commissioning target at the end of 2024 for phase 1 and mid-2025 for stage 2.

"This factory will also buy and process nickel laterite ore from the MCM MBMA Mine based on a supply agreement for 20 years," he concluded.