Special Interview: Central Omega to have new smelter in early 2014
Monday, August 20 2012 - 02:28 AM WIB
As government?s export ban on raw material set to take effect in 2014, PT Central Omega Resources has determined to complete the construction of smelter to process nickel ore into ferro nickel by early that year.
The ban is mandated by Law No 4/2009 and the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister?s Regulation No 7/2012.
The company is currently on the phase of pre-feasibility study to select technologies to be applied in the smelter, the company?s Operation Director Ciho Darmawan Bangun told CoalAsia.
There are two kinds of technology being mulled by the company: electric stove technology and high calorie coal stove technology. ?Each technology has its plus and minus that is why now we are studying them from every aspect because the smelter is our long-term investment,? Ciho said.
Separately, the company?s President Commissioner Johny N. Wiraatmadja said there were some aspects influencing the advantages and disadvantages of the technology options. He cited as an example that if the company would go with electric stove, it would surely yield a huge production capacity and efficient production cost. ?But the problem is in our mining area, in Sulawesi, there is no steady electricity supply for mining operation. There is only supply for households,? Johny said.
He revealed that state-owned electricity company PT PLN had previously suggested the company to build its smelter in Surabaya, East Java, to ensure steady supply of electricity. However, such advice also came with another whole new costly problem as it meant that the company must transport its nickel ore to Surabaya from its Sulawesi mining site.
?The cost to transport nickel ore from Sulawesi to Surabaya is far more expensive than shipping it to China,? Johnny said. ?Local people protest the idea of having our smelter outside the area (Sulawesi),? he added.
Read the complete report at CoalAsia magazine.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak