Vale drives downstreaming through multi-regional growth - BCA Sekuritas
PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (INCO) is reinforcing its growth strategy through the development of mining operations and processing facilities across several regions, as part of efforts to drive mineral downstreaming while enhancing the competitiveness of the national nickel industry.
Head of Strategy and Business Development at PT Vale Indonesia Tbk, Mateus Sigit Harisulistya, said the company is currently moving towards three operating 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 can say that we are heading towards a multi-regional growth platform, because in time we will have three operations running,” Mateus said in Jakarta on Monday.
He also said the development of the three projects is directed at strengthening nickel ore processing through High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) technology.
According to him, this forms part of the company’s strategy to build a more integrated nickel value chain, from mining and processing through to intermediate products that can support downstream industries, including battery materials.
Under this scheme, PT Vale continues to carry out the mining investment itself, whilst the processing facilities are developed in cooperation with partners.
For the Morowali project, the investment value reaches around US$1.9 billion, covering both mining investment and the HPAL facility; the Pomalaa project has an investment value of around US$3.2 billion, whilst the IGP in Sorowako carries an investment value of US$2.1 billion.
In terms of project progress, Mateus said the Kolaka project is targeted to be in full operation early next year, the Morowali project is targeted to reach full mechanical operation in the first quarter of 2027, and the Sorowako project is expected to operate in 2028.
Previously, PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (INCO) assessed that the nickel mining business outlook remains solid for the coming years, in line with developments in current technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
“But looking ahead, I see nickel as still very promising,” said President Director and CEO of PT Vale, Bernardus Irmanto, during a public online presentation in Jakarta on Thursday (10/9).
“We are not only looking at nickel use in electric vehicle batteries, but also at future trends such as robotics, AI, data centres and eVTOL, for instance, which will require enormous volumes of nickel,” he added.
According to Bernardus, this opportunity remains promising despite a number of challenges, primarily from the global geopolitical situation, which will affect the prices of commodities supporting operations.
“We still see the nickel outlook going forward as good and solid, even though in the short term there may be turbulence on the supply-demand balance, as well as geopolitical conditions affecting the prices of commodities used in nickel production,” he explained.