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