State-owned diversified miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) is seeking to increase its capital expenditure (capex) by 133 percent annually to Rp 3.23 trillion (US$235.15 million) this year in a bid to support the construction of its processing facilities.
Antam intends to use the largest part of the expenditure, 73.1 percent, on the first development phase of a new ferronickel plant in East Halmahera, North Maluku, according to its 2018 Work Plan and Budget.
The facility is expected to have an annual capacity of 13,500 tons of nickel in ferronickel (TNi) once it is completed by the end of 2018.
Read also: Diversified miner Antam to cut losses and quit steel firmAntam, in cooperation with its parent company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), will also kick off construction of a new smelter-grade alumina refinery in Mempawah, West Kalimantan, in the second half of this year. The $1.8 billion will generate alumina, the raw material to produce aluminum.
“Antam will focus on expanding its core business and maintaining its financial strength in order to ensure long-term profitability,” Antam finance director Dimas Wikan Pramudhito recently said.
In order to boost its financial health, Antam last year sold its entire 20 percent stake in PT Dairi Prima Mineral (DPM), the operator of lead and zinc mines in North Sumatra, to the latter’s majority owner, PT Bumi Resources Minerals (BRMS). Following the $57.3-million transaction, BRMS now holds full control over DPM.
Last year, Antam’s revenue surged by 38 percent year-on-year to Rp 12.55 trillion, 58.7 percent of which came from its gold sales. (lnd)