TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chairman of the Indonesian Nickel Miner Association (APNI) Ladjiman Damanik stated that there will be 26 fully operational nickel smelter by the end of this year.
"Those are the ones that are in progress, it will be operational by the end of this year," Ladjiman stated on Monday, March 6, 2017.
Ladjiman explained that there are currently six fully operational smelters that with a cumulative annual production capacity of 300 to 400 thousand tons. By the end of the year, all of the new smelters are predicted to have a total annual production capacity of 1 million ton.
Ladjiman confirmed that Chinese investors are interested in constructing nickel smelter in Indonesia.
Ladjiman also stated that the value of nickel will likely to increase this year as the United States is currently stepping up investments in the infrastructure sector.
However, Ladjiman said that he cannot predict the exact number of the increase. "I haven't seen the latest number, I can't predict how much," Ladjiman said.
DIKO OKTARA
