Vale Executive Details Development Plans for New Nickel Mine

Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (INCO), Budiawansyah, has revealed the development progress of a new nickel mining project, namely the Tanamalia mine in Sorowako, East Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi.

According to him, in 2027 the company will still be carrying out the detailed exploration process for Tanamalia. This stage includes a second-phase exploration study as well as detailed project design.

“2027 is the detailed exploration process, the phase 2 exploration study and later there will be detailed design,” said Budi when met in Jakarta on Thursday (13/8/2026).

Mining operations at Tanamalia are estimated to only begin in 2029. However, this target is still a company projection.

“Yes, our forecast estimate is 2029,” he said.

On the other hand, Budi emphasised that the development of a mining project must pass a series of studies, ranging from ecological aspects to disaster risk. This is done to ensure that mining activities can run safely and minimise environmental impact.

“So it must be clear, we conduct ecological studies, we conduct disaster studies there. What is the difference with Sorowako? It is the same. Sorowako is actually more risky, we conduct disaster studies and all sorts of things, Bahodopi is also like that, we evaluate the risk maturity,” said Budi.

Citing the official Vale Indonesia website, the Tanamalia Project is currently in the Front End Loading (FEL) 2 study process. FEL is PT Vale’s project management guideline. This method explains how a project is developed and planned, covering technical, economic, environmental and business aspects related to the company.

In the study stage, data collection on nickel content will be carried out. This data is processed to decide whether or not the mining process will proceed.

There are 3 phases in the FEL Study stage:

FEL 1 - Business Feasibility

FEL 2 - Alternative Selection

FEL 3 - Execution Plan.