Japan's SMM abandons Pomalaa nickel project in Indonesia
TOKYO – Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) said on Monday it has decided to discontinue a long-running feasibility study on a nickel processing plant project in Pomalaa, Indonesia because of a disagreement with its partner PT Vale Indonesia INCO.
The Japanese miner and smelter had been working on the study since 2012 and had expected the project would help SMM achieve its long-term target of boosting its annual nickel output to 150 000 t, from about 81 000 t currently.
A spokesperson for SMM said PT Vale had decided to find another partner and that there had been some differences between SMM and PT Vale about construction scheduling and costs.
"We have made the decision as PT Vale had begun to consider moving forward with the project with another company and as we had not been able to continue negotiations with PT Vale," an SMM spokesperson said.
He declined to say who PT Vale's new partner is.
"SMM has concluded that it has no choice but to discontinue the study since it is difficult to maintain its internal and external project study team with no prospect for future progress," the company said in a statement.
The feasibility study was also taking a long time as the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed procedures to obtain permits and discussions with PT Vale, the spokesperson said.
In February, SMM President Akira Nozaki said that his company wanted to make an investment decision on the Pomalaa project "as early as possible," and that the project aimed to start production in the late-2020s with a capacity of about 40,000 tonnes of mixed sulphide nickel a year.
"We will keep our long-term goal of nickel output and continue to make efforts to secure stable supply of natural resources," the spokesperson said.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
SmartMine IoT has been developed with the mining industry in mind, to provides our customers with powerful business intelligence and data modelling...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Developed to exceed the latest EN 15964 standards for police breathalysers proving that it will remain accurate and reliable for many years to come.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
