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View all search resultsAntam still leans on imports as gold demand surges at home
Amid limited output and dwindling reserves, the state-owned gold miner is still importing the precious metal as demand surges and it develops its minting plant in Gresik.
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A worker in protective clothing works at a ferronickel smelter owned by PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) in Pomalaa, Central Sulawesi, in this handout photo from May 2019. (MIND.ID/-)
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tate-owned miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) is continuing to import around 30 tonnes of gold annually to bridge the gap between its limited output and surging domestic demand for the precious metal.
Antam president director Achmad Ardianto said the company sourced most of its gold imports from Singapore and Australia to cover a growing domestic shortfall.
“[Total] Domestic production is 90 tonnes, some of which is sold to jewelry companies and some exported,” Ardianto told a meeting on Monday with House of Representatives Commission VI, which oversees state-owned enterprises.
“So the gold produced and mined directly by Antam is only 1 tonne per year. Meanwhile, public demand was 37 tonnes last year and has now reached 43 tonnes,” he said.
The company’s primary gold facility, the Pongkor underground mine in West Java, has an annual capacity of around a tonne, as production has been halted at that level since reserves have dwindled to just 5 tonnes. Now in its post-mining phase, the Pongkor mine is estimated to hold around 26 tonnes in remaining resources.
Read also: Govt eases coal and mineral pricing rules after market backlash
Beyond imports, Antam supplements its inventory through gold buyback programs from the public and by purchasing and refining gold from other local miners, such as PT Indo Muro Kencana and PT Nusa Halmahera Minerals.
