PT Sinosteel Indonesia Mining, a subsidiary of China's state-owned Sinosteel Corp., is in the initial stages of developing a 500,000-metric-ton nickel mine in central Sulawesi, with plans to mine nickel ore by the end of the year, a senior company official said Wednesday.
The mine would be Sinosteel's first foray into nickel mining, as part of the company's aggressive push to secure raw materials for steelmaking.
PT Sinosteel has applied for an exploitation permit covering 300 hectares in the county of Morowali, which the company expects may be approved in two to three months by the local government. Exploration at the site began last year.
The final exported laterite nickel product would likely contain 1%-2% nickel and would be sold to Sinosteel Corp.'s 80,000 ton ferronickel plant now under construction near Tianjin, China.
PT Sinosteel is still conducting a feasibility study, and is now negotiating with subcontractors for the mine's construction.
It will soon begin negotiations with local villagers that may be impacted by the nickel mine to buy or lease property owned by them.
The nickel mine is owned by a local Indonesian business partner, which holds the exploration permit and has signed a business agreement with PT Sinosteel.
Export volumes could be doubled to one million tons if the company carries out its plan to build a second port near the mine.
Dow Jones via tradingmarkets.com
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