MIND ID Make Sure All Members Implement Mine Downstream

Photo: Doc. MIND ID

JAKARTA - The state-owned mining industry holding company Mind ID is committed to optimizing the mineral downstream activities of the company's group members for the sake of Indonesia's progress. President Director of Mind ID Hendi Prio Santoso said the management of strategic resource reserves carried out by the company was as much as possible to form a better civilization. "We have a stable purpose that is a commitment in carrying out every aspect of mining operations and the key to business continuity, namely exploring natural resources for civilization, prosperity, and a brighter future," he said in a statement quoted by Antara, Friday, January 13.

Hendi explained that downstreaming activities are currently the main task that MIND ID must carry out as the parent of the state-owned mining industry. In addition to being able to increase economic value and income from the double value of semi-finished products or finished products, he added, downstreaming and applied technology is able to improve the value of the local product utilization component as well as domestically-made products.MIND ID answers the challenge together with its entire member, PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, PT Bukit Asam Tbk, PT Freeport Indonesia, PT Inalum (Persero), and PT Timah Tbk. Furthermore, Hendi said that each member was not only carrying out mining practices, but also encouraged the acceleration of downstreaming. Currently, PT Aneka Tambang or Antam is focusing on implementing strategic initiatives for the development of nickel downstreaming. So far, the company is still completing the construction project of a ferronickel factory in East Halmahera, North Maluku. The progress of the construction of the 13,500-ton phronickel plant has reached 98 percent and is expected to operate in the second half of this year. When the factory is operational, it can increase the total production capacity of Antam's annual ferronickel to 40,500 tons.PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) is also focused on downstreaming copper by building a new downstreaming plant.The Manyar smelter is a purification facility and processing of a second copper concentrate owned by PTFI, which is being built in the Java Integrated Industrial Estate (JIIPE), Gresik, East Java, with a total area of about 100 hectares. Freeport is designed to have a copper concentrate processing capacity of 2 million tons per year that makes the smelter the largest copper processing site in the world. The result of the processing of the Manyar smelter will be added to the smelter processing capacity that has been in operation, PT Smelting, with a processing capacity of 1 million tons of copper concentrate every year. Thus, after Smelter Manyar operates, Freeport is able to process 3 million tons of copper concentrate per year.

While Inalum's efforts to increase production capacity, one of which is present through its subsidiary, namely Indonesia Aluminum Alloy (IAA). Currently, IAA has carried out soft commissioning to ensure that its machines are ready to operate and recycle aluminum. With the operation of the PT IAA, Inalum is able to target an increase in capacity of 21 thousand tons per year. PT Timah Tbk is also able to realize the downstream program through the use of the latest technology in tin commodity processing. Technology called the melting of the Top Submerge Lance (TSL) Ausmelt Furnace is a new chapter of technological transformation in tin processing. TSL Ausmelt Furnace is a Timah strategy to answer the challenges faced by the current tin mining industry, specifically maximizing low-level tin concentrate. The TSL Ausmelt Furnace facility is able to process low-level tin ore concentrate starting from 40 percent with a production capacity of 40,000 tons of crude tin per year or 35.000 metric tons of ingot per year. Mind ID as the mining industry holding is a synergy and collaboration between its members and encourages what President Jokowi aspires to encourage downstreaming in order to increase the added value of mining product commodities and be able to strengthen the company's core business," said Hendi.