Cita Mineral to remain in red next year

By Thomas R. Sembiring

IDX-listed mining company PT Cita Mineral Investindo Tbk said that it expects to remain in the red next year as a new alumina smelter, which is projected to be completed end of this year, will only be operating at limited capacity.

This was said by Cita Mineral Corporate Secretary Yusak Lumba Pardede on Thursday. Cita Mineral through a joint venture company called PT Well Harvest Wining Alumina Refinery, in partnership with China?s Hongqiao Group (Cita owns a 30 percent stake in the JV), is currently developing a combined 2 million-ton per annum alumina refinery in West Kalimantan, with the first 1 million-ton per annum capacity to be completed end of this year.

By end of this month, Yusak said that the project is expected to complete 50 percent of the targeted works.

Cita Mineral has slipped into the red since 2014 after the government banned the export mineral ores including bauxite starting January. In the first quarter of this year, the company booked a net loss of Rp 163.14 billion.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak