Brazilian multi-metal and mining company Vale has announced plans to build a further two nickel smelters in Indonesia in joint ventures with China and Japan, the deputy chief executive officer of Vale Indonesia said in a Saturday September 14 news interview.
The first scheduled smelter will be built in Pomalaa on Sulawesi Island, in a $2.8 million joint venture with Japanese multi-metal company Sumitomo Metal & Mining Co and will produce battery raw materials for the electric vehicle (EV) industry using high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL). PT Vale Inco already produces nickel in matte from its lateritic ore integrated mining and processing facilities in the region, the entire production of which is sold under long-term contracts to the Japanese nickel market for further refining. The second planned smelter will be at Bahadopi, also on Sulawesi, and is still under negotiation with an unnamed Chinese investor. The...