Antam, Inco agree to tie up

Antam, Inco agree to tie up

State-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang Tbk. (Antam) and Canadian mining firm PT Inco Tbk have agreed to form a joint venture to develop nickel reserves in East Pomalaa, Kolaka regency, Southeast Sulawesi.

A memorandum of understanding on the joint venture was signed on Tuesday by D. Aditya Sumanegara, the president of Antam, and EW Hodkin, the president and CEO of Inco. Attending the signing ceremony, which took place at Antam's base in Pomalaa, were Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro and Southeast Sulawesi Governor HZB Palaguna.

Antam and Inco are currently formulating a more detailed agreement, the two companies said in a statement.

The statement did not specify the amount of nickel reserves contained in the area the joint venture will develop, but it said the area was part of a concession previously awarded to Inco. -- JP