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n analyst says the new management of PT Vale Indonesia, previously PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco), must be more responsive to demands from regional administrations and people living near its mines in Central, South and Southeast Sulawesi.

A mining consultant from PT Kresna Inti Cipta, Priyo Pribadi, said on Tuesday that every mining company had to adjust to the increasing power of regional administrations and residents under regional autonomy.

“Growing demands from [regional governments and residents] for mining companies to increase their contributions to regional development is disturbing, but the new management of Vale Indonesia has to be able to accommodate that,” he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

The Southeast Sulawesi provincial administration made several demands of Vale in January, citing the company’s small contribution to the local economy, including a return of mining areas to the government, and demands for a nickel processing plant and to cooperate with state-owned or regional enterprises in operating its mining sites.

Southeast Sulawesi Governor Nur Alam said Vale had only contributed around Rp 15 billion (US$1.67 million) to build a hospital since it began operation in the province in 1968, as reported by Kompas daily.

On the governor’s demands, Priyo said that environmental impacts of nickel mining needed study, as did the level of international market demand for nickel-based products.

“Nickel mining destroys the environment. If all concession areas are developed, the environmental impact will be unbearable. For the smelter, we have to examine international market trends. Now the demand is mostly for half-processed nickel,” he said.

The company booked a 47 percent increase in net profits to $111.9 million in the first quarter of 2011 , despite lower production of 16,501 metric tons of nickel ore, down 16.7 percent from the same period last year.

An increase in nickel prices helped the company to boost its net profits.

Separately, the company announced on Tuesday that it had named a new president director and would use a new name representing the major shareholders.

Nicolaas (Nico) D. Kanter, previously Inco’s deputy president commissioner, will serve as president director, a post that remained empty after Tony Wenas resigned in August.

Tony, citing personal and family problems, submitted his resignation after serving for 16 months.

“Nico will officially serve as president director, starting [on Tuesday],” Vale Indonesia vice president director Bernardus Irmanto said at an extraordinary shareholders meeting in Jakarta.

The nickel producer also appointed Michael O’Sullivan as its project director and Josimar Pires as its chief operating officer.

In addition to the new management appointments, shareholders attending the meeting agreed to change the company’s name from Inco to PT Vale Indonesia Tbk.

The change represents share ownership, which is currently dominated by Vale Canada Limited, a subsidiary of Brazil-based Vale, with 58.73 percent ownership. Sumitomo Metal Mining has 20.09 percent, while the public has 21.18 percent.

Bernardus said the firm would seek approval for its new name from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the Law and Human Rights Ministry, the Indonesian Stock Exchange as well as the Capital Market and Financial Institutions Supervisory Agency (Bapepam-LK).

“The process must be in line with the company’s contract of work and regulations in Indonesia,” Bernardus said. (rcf)