Antam 1Q ferronickel output down by 16%
Antam 1Q ferronickel output down by 16%
JAKARTA (JP): Gold and nickel mining company PT Aneka Tambang
(Antam) reported on Friday a 16 percent decline in its
ferronickel production to 2,406 tons in the first quarter of this
year from 2,860 tons in the previous quarter.
Antam, which mines nickel, gold and bauxite, however,
maintained the company would be able to meet its target of 10,000
tons this year.
"We are still on target to produce 10,000 tons of nickel by
the year end," Antam said in a report submitted to the Jakarta
Stock Exchange (JSX).
The company added that the year-on-year production of nickel
ore in the first quarter slightly increased to 694,790 wet metric
tons, but decreased by 46 percent from the previous quarter.
The decline was attributed to the unstable security conditions
at one of the company's production sites, on Gebe Island in
Maluku province.
Maluku province, located in the northern part of Indonesia,
has been hit for the past six months by religious conflicts.
The other company's production site at Pomalaa managed to
increase its production but still could not adequately offset the
reduced production on Gebe Island, according to Antam.
Antam still expects the nickel ore production in 2000 to match
last year's level, which was 2.1 million wmt, it added.
The company's ferronickel sales volume was up 165 percent at
2,194 tons in the first quarter this year over the same period
last year, but decreased by 37 percent compared to the previous
quarter.
Antam said it booked higher than normal sales in the fourth
quarter last year as many purchase contract commitments were
realized ahead of schedule.
Gold production, Antam said, continued its strong performance
in the first quarter this year, increasing by 2 percent compared
to the previous quarter and 287 percent compared to the same
quarter last year.
The company said that it was well positioned to achieve its
production target of 3.3 tons of gold this year.
The improved production was attributed to the decreasing
number of illegal miners at the company's mining site and the
remediation of technical problems, the company added.
Gold sales in the first quarter year-on-year increased by
almost 200 percent at 941 kilograms, but decreased by 16 percent
compared to the previous quarter last year.
The decrease was due to domestic value added tax (VAT), which
in turn reduced demands, the company said.
Aneka Tambang is listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX)
and the Australia Stock Exchange. Its share price was up Rp 75 to
close at Rp 1,125 on Friday on the JSX. (udi)