Chinese firms invest 143.5 trillion rupiah to build nickel smelter

ValeIndonesia/INCO has disclosed the amount of money the company needs to invest in the construction of three smelters or nickel ore refining and processing facilities, with a total investment amounting to about $8.6 billion to $9 billion, equivalent to 143.5 trillion rupiahs.Vale Indonesia's senior public relations executive said recently that the downstream processing industry must be accelerated, and the two sides have agreed that this is why all three smelter construction projects, which have been announced at US$8.6 billion or about US$9 billion, must be implemented in parallel. The three projects include (i) a project to build a smelter in Pomalaa, South-East Sudan Province, in cooperation with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Metal Co Ltd; (ii) a project to build a smelter in Morowali, Central Sudan Province, in cooperation with Shandong Xinhai Science and Technology Co Ltd; and (iii) a project to build a smelter in East LuwuTimur District, South Sudan Province, in cooperation with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Metal Co Ltd Ltd. in Sorowako commune, LuwuTimur district, Nansu province. He believes that these partners have the technology and that the Chinese side is currently making more progress on the smelting side, while the Indian side is more up-to-date on the mining side, and that all three projects are still under construction.

As we all know, US automobile company Ford MotorCo and Chinese nickel company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Metal have agreed to sign a definitive investment agreement with Indonesia's Vale (INCO) for the construction of a nickel smelter valued at a total of about US$4.5 billion, or the equivalent of 67.5 trillion rupiahs. In addition the Pomalaa smelter project, located in Southeast Sulawesi, will produce 120,000 tons of Mixed Hydroxy Precipitate (MHP) per year using High Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) processing and production technology. According to Reuters, the chief executive of Vale (INCO) said that the company and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Metals Co Ltd estimated that the smelter's construction program could be completed in 2026, and that the agreement was unique because it brought Ford new experience in the upstream business of nickel mining. Vale Indonesia holds a 30% stake in the smelter project, with Ford and Huayou controlling the rest. Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Ford's public relations manager said the deal marks Ford's first investment in Southeast Asia. Ford can help ensure that the use of finished nickel products used in electric vehicle batteries in its global operations, mining and production are compliant with ethical standards (ESG) based on the principles of fair presentation and full disclosure.

Through MINDID State Mineral Holding Company, the government became the largest shareholder of Indonesia Vale Corporation (INCO). After a period of time, finally on Monday, February 26, 2024, MINDID signed the Joint Venture Share Acquisition Transaction Agreement to purchase 14% shares of INCO at a price of 3,050 rupiahs per share, with a total acquisition value of approximately US$300 million or equivalent to 4.69 trillion rupiahs, and the state-owned company officially owned 34% shares of INCO and became the largest shareholder. The state-owned enterprise officially owns 34% shares of Vale Indonesia and becomes the largest shareholder. As a result of the shareholding deal, ValeCanada Limited, the largest shareholder, has become the second largest shareholder with its stake falling to 33.9% from 43.79%, while Sumitomo MetalMining's stake has fallen to 11.5% from 15.03%. The ratio of public shares outstanding on the Indonesian stock market (BEI) remains unchanged at 20.6%. If the shares in the Indonesian stock market are included, Indonesia's shareholding in Vale Indonesia is 54.6%.