Russian companies to build smelting plant

At least four companies from Russia have expressed their interest to build a smelting plant in Indonesia to take the advantage of the government?s plan to ban exports of unprocessed metal beginning 2014, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Tuesday.

Industry Minister MS Hidayat said in Jakarta on Monday that the four Russian companies would invest about US$5 billion for the construction and operation of the smelting plant. The minister said that executives of the Russian companies would meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the APEC meeting in Vladivostok, Russia later this week.

?I will organize a one on one meeting in Vladivostok, Russia. There are four Russian investors who will be received by the President,? Hidayat said.

In order to add the added value of the country?s mining operation, the government will ban miners to export unprocessed minerals beginning 2014. With the new policy, miners should establish their own smelters or cooperate with smelting companies to process their mineral production.

Thamrin Sihite, the director general of Mineral and Coal at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said that his office has received at least 185 applications for the construction of smelters since the announcement of the export restruction regulation early this year.

He said that his office had established a special team to evaluate the applications. (*)