Singapore 08/10/2015 - PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) is aiming to complete construction of first phase of its ferronickel project in East Halmahera in Indonesia's north Maluku province by 2018, it said.
The first stage of the project has capacity of 13,500-15,000 tonnes per year of contained nickel. Antam has already built several supporting infrastructure facilities such as the camp site, main office, port and jetty and water intake facility, the Indonesian state-owned company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The first phase of the project will be funded by a 3.5 trillion rupiah ($252 million) rights issue.
The second phase of the project will have the same capacity as the first but its construction and commissioning schedule is still under review by the company, an Antam spokesman told FastMarkets.
Antam expects its ferronickel capacity to rise 50 percent to 27,000-30,000 tonnes per year of contained nickel this year (assuming nickel ore feed of 1.9 percent) as it nears completion of its ferronickel expansion project at Pomalaa in southeast Sulawesi.
The company is targeting output of 20,400 tonnes in 2015, up from 16,581 tonnes in 2014.
Antam sold most of its ferronickel to China, Europe and South Korea in the first half of this year.
(Editing by Mark Shaw)