2019 shows a nickel smelter already operating in Sulawesi.
Hariandi Hafid/sopa image/lightrocket by Getty image
Medka battery materials backed by Indonesian billionaires Garibaldi Thohir and Edwin Soeryadjaya have signed a deal in Sulawesi (Sulawesi) built a $1.8 billion nickel smelter and doubled its nickel investment when the electric vehicle (EV) booms.
The high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) smelter located in Molovalli Industrial Park in central Sulawesi will be developed and operated by the Merdeka Battery Materials (MBMA) subsidiary of Sulawesi Nicocobalt. Construction began in January and operations are scheduled to begin within 18 months, according to an announcement released this week.
“Expanding our downstream processing capacity is crucial to our strategy to maximize the value of a wide range of nickel resources,” MBMA Director Teddy Oetomo said in a statement.
Once completed, the smelter will generate 90,000 tons of mixed hydroxide precipitates, a key material for the manufacture of electric electric batteries. The plant is located next to an existing smelter operated by Huayue Nickel Cobalt, a joint venture led by Chinese billionaire Chen Xuehua.
The new plant will source its raw materials from MBMA's Sulawesi Cahaya mineral unit, Restite Nickel Ore, one of the largest nickel ores in the world. The mine has about 13.8 million tons of nickel and 1 million tons of cobalt.
The project will be funded primarily through loans, with Indonesian and overseas banks donating US$1.4 billion.
MBMA's parent company Merdeka Bronze Gold sees billionaires Thohir and Soeryadjaya as key stakeholders. Thohir owns 7.4% stake and Soeryadjaya's Saratoga Investama Sedaya owns 19.4% stake. Thohir ranked 17th on Indonesia’s 50 most abundant list released last December with a net worth of $3.8 billion, while Soeryadjaya ranked 3.3 billion with $1.6 billion. Thohir also leads Alamtri Resources Indonesia, one of the world's top coal exporters, while Soeryadjaya's Saratoga owns stakes in about 20 companies, including Alamtri.
