opper producer PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara is conducting a technical study for a smelter it will construct in exchange for a copper concentrate export permit it received from the government several months ago.
The study will focus more on technology selection, said Amman Mineral president director Rachmat Makkasau, but he declined to disclose the amount of investment needed for the project.
“[The investment] will be made clear after the study. It will probably be clearer in August,” he said on the sidelines of a meeting at the House of Representatives in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.
(Read also: Amman to start smelter construction in early 2018)
While local media recently reported Amman Mineral was in talks to construct the smelter with fellow copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia, Rachmat said the firm was not focusing on that issue yet.
The government recently issued a regulation allowing exports of copper concentrates as long as the mining firms were seriously preparing smelter construction as part of the requirement for the conversion of a contract of work (CoW) to a special mining permit (IUPK).
Once the firm converts the contract, the government will issue an export permit for one year and will review the permit once every six months in order to evaluate the progress on its smelter construction.
The government has issued a permit that allows Amman Mineral to export 675,000 wet metric tons of copper concentrate until next February. (bbn)
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