Vale Accelerates Downstreaming Through Multi-Regional Growth
Jakarta (ANTARA) - PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (INCO) is strengthening its growth strategy through the development of mining operations and processing facilities across several regions, as part of an effort to drive mineral downstreaming and enhance the competitiveness of the national nickel industry.
Mateus Sigit Harisulistya, Head of Strategy and Business Development at PT Vale Indonesia Tbk, stated that the company is currently moving towards three operational regions through the development of the Integrated Growth Project (IGP) Bahodopi in Morowali, Central Sulawesi; IGP Pomalaa in Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi; and IGP Sorowako in South Sulawesi.
“So, from the single operation we are currently running, we are now moving towards three operations. We say that we are heading towards a multi-regional growth platform, in this case, because we will eventually have three operations running,” Mateus said in Jakarta on Monday.
He also noted that the development of these three projects is aimed at strengthening nickel ore processing through High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) technology.
According to him, this is part of the company’s strategy to build a more integrated nickel value chain, ranging from mining and processing to producing intermediate products that can support downstream industries, including battery materials.
Under this scheme, PT Vale will continue to undertake mining investments, while processing facilities will be developed through partnerships with partners.
For the Morowali project, the investment value reaches approximately US$1.9 billion, covering both mining investments and HPAL facilities; the Pomalaa project has an investment value of around US$3.2 billion, while the IGP in Sorowako has an investment value of US$2.1 billion.
Regarding project progress, Mateus mentioned that the Kolaka project is targeted to be fully operational early next year, the Morowali project is targeted to reach full mechanical operation in the first quarter of 2027, while the Sorowako project is expected to be operational by 2028.
Previously, PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (INCO) assessed that the prospects for the nickel mining business remain solid in the coming years, alongside the development of the latest technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
“But I see the future; nickel is still very promising,” said President Director and CEO of PT Vale, Bernardus Irmanto, during an online public presentation in Jakarta on Thursday (10/9).
“We are not only looking at the use of nickel for electric vehicle batteries, but we are also looking at future trends in robotics, AI, data centres, and eVTOL, for example, which will require massive volumes of nickel,” he added.
According to Bernardus, these opportunities remain promising despite several challenges, primarily from the global geopolitical situation which will impact the prices of commodities supporting operations.
“We still see the future prospects for nickel as good and solid, even though in the short term there may be turbulence in terms of the supply-demand balance, as well as geopolitical conditions that affect the prices of commodities used in nickel production,” he explained.