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Indonesia Nickel
Indonesia was among the world's top five producers of
nickel
ore in 1989, although Canada and the then-Soviet Union
produced
much greater quantities. The major nickel mining
operations were
run by P.T. Aneka Tambang (also known by the abbreviated
P.T.
Antam), the Indonesian government mining firm, and by P.T.
Inco, an
international firm owned primarily by the Canadian firm
Inco
Limited, with a minority share owned by Sumitomo Metal
Mining
Company of Japan. At its integrated nickel complex at the
Soroako
Concession in Sumatera Selatan Province, P.T. Inco
processed ore
into nickel matte, which was then exported to Japan. Plans
were
underway in 1989 to expand the capacity of the complex
from 35,000
tons to 47,630 tons capacity. P.T. Inco also planned to
issue from
US$300 million to US$400 million in stock shares on the
Jakarta
Stock Exchange in 1990 to meet the 20 percent domestic
equity
ownership requirement mandated in its 1967 contract with
the
Indonesian government. P.T. Aneka Tambang had mine
operations in
the Pomalaa area of Sulawesi Selatan Province and on Gebe
Island,
Maluku Province. A joint venture between P.T. Aneka
Tambang and
Australian Queensland Nickel planned to open a new nickel
mine on
Gag Island, Irian Jaya Province, in 1991. P.T. Aneka
Tambang also
operated a ferronickel processing plant in Sumatera
Selatan
Province with a capacity of 4,800 tons per year of
contained
nickel. Total nickel ore reserves in Indonesia represented
12
percent of world reserves, or 367 million tons with a
nickel
content between 1.5 to 2 percent.
Data as of November 1992
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