Ground breaking at copper smelting plant
Ground breaking at copper smelting plant
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo
broke the ground in Gresik, East Java, yesterday for the
construction of Indonesia's first copper smelter and refinery.
The construction of the plants, owned by a joint venture
company belonging to Mitsubishi Materials Corporation of Japan
and PT Freeport Indonesia, will be completed in August 1998 and
start commercial production in December of the same year.
The joint venture, PT Smelting Company, said that Chiyoda
Corporation of Japan has been assigned to construct the plants,
which will cost US$600 million.
Smelting Company, set up with an investment of $700 million,
is 75 percent owned by Mitsubishi Materials Corp. and 25 percent
by Freeport Indonesia, a company majority owned by McMoRan Copper
and Gold Incorporated of the United States.
Smelting Company said that Mitsubishi Corporation, the
principal company of Mitsubishi Corporation, will be allowed to
take a 9.5 percent stake and Nippon Mining & Metals Company Ltd.,
also of Japan, another 5 percent stake from Mitsubishi Materials
Corp.
The joint venture company will have the capacity to annually
produce 200,000 tons of copper cathode as its main product, which
will be mainly to fulfill Indonesia's domestic demand.
It will also produce four by-products -- 592,000 tons of
sulfuric acid, 480 tons of anode slime, 380,000 tons of slag and
31,000 tons of gypsum per year.
For its raw materials, the plants will need 656,000 tons of
copper concentrate, 98,000 tons of silica sand, 52,000 tons of
limestone and 23,000 tons of coal per year. All the copper
concentrate will be sourced from Freeport Indonesia's copper mine
in Irian Jaya.
The plants will also need 9,300,000 cubic meters of natural
gas per year for fuel.
Minister of Investment Sanyoto Sastrowardoyo said on Wednesday
that the operation of the copper smelter will help Indonesia save
$270 million for copper cathode imports.
"The joint venture will also help Indonesia earn about $320
million per annum because it will export 67 percent of its
output," he said. (13)