Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The construction of four smelters, consisting of three nickel smelters and one lead smelter, will be completed and operational in 2021, said the Director General of Mineral and Coal of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ridwan Djamaluddin.

"In 2021 there will be 23 smelters in total, with the addition of four new smelters," Ridwan said during a hearing between the ministry and the house of representatives here on Monday (June 8).

So far, two development projects, which are respectively owned by PT Smelter Nikel Indonesia and PT Cahaya Modern Metal Industri, have been 100 percent completed.

PT Smelter Nikel Indonesia has successfully carried out production trials. However, this activity was temporarily suspended while waiting for additional funds for operations.

Meanwhile, the smelter belonging to Cahaya Modern Metal Industri in Banten province has started its production.

In addition, there are two ferronickel smelters under construction, which are owned by PT Aneka Tambang in East Halmahera, North Maluku, and Prima Citra in Central Kalimantan.

According to Ridwan, the construction of Aneka Tambang smelter has reached 97.7 percent, while the one owned by Prima Citra has been built 99.87 percent.

The government targets 23 smelters, consisting of 16 nickel smelters, two copper smelters, two bauxite smelters, one iron smelter, one manganese smelter, as well as one lead and zinc smelter, to operate soon.

By 2024, 53 smelters are expected to be operational to support the mineral industry in Indonesia.

Reporting by Indonesia Window