Minister Of Energy And Mineral Resources: Vale's Investment Commitment Reaches IDR 178.58 Trillion

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif said that PT Vale Indonesia Tbk's (INCO) investment commitment reached IDR 178.58 trillion or 11.2 billion US dollars with an exchange rate of IDR 15,944. "This extension program (mining permit) is related to the investment plan that we have submitted, there are approximately 11.2 billion US dollars that will be completed from 2026 to 2029,” Arifin said in a Working Meeting (Raker) with Commission VII DPR RI in Senayan, Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Thursday 4 April. Arifin said that the investment commitment was a requirement for Vale Indonesia to extend its mining permit, and change it from a work contract (KK) to a special mining business permit (IUPK). In his presentation, Arifin unraveled three giant projects belonging to PT Vale Indonesia on Sulawesi Island, namely nickel and HPAL (High Pressure Acid Leaching) Sorowako, nickel and HPAL Pomalaa mines, as well as nickel and RKEF Bahodopi mines. HPAL is a processing and refining of nickel limousines. The nickel and HPAL Sorowako mines will start operating in 2027 with an investment of US$2 billion. Furthermore, the nickel and HPAL Pomalaa mining projects will start operating by the end of 2026 with an investment value of US$4.6 billion. " “ And the investment of nickel and RKEF Bahodopi mines will operate in 2026 with an investment value of US$2.6 billion," said Arifin. Apart from the three projects, Arifin said there is one more project that is still being explored with a value of around 2 billion US dollars. Therefore, overall, the project value reaches 11.2 billion US dollars.

The investment value of 11.2 billion US dollars until 2029 is a very large investment value. That is one of the considerations (extending mining permits), the main thing,” said Arifin. Previously, the Minister of Investment/Head of BKPM Bahlil Lahadalia had explained the plan to invest in the downstream nickel of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk. Based on Bahlil's explanation, the fourth project that is still under exploration is the SOA HPAL project. The project has an investment value of around IDR 30 trillion or around 2 billion US dollars.