Gag Nikel president director Risono said recently that the company had recorded production of 414,000 tons in the first quarter of 2019, an increase from 101,000 tons in the first quarter last year.

He said the company aimed to produce 1.8 million tons of nickel this year from 912,000 tons last year, or 9.8 percent of Antam's total nickel production. With this year’s target, Gag Nikel wants to increase its contribution to 17.14 percent, Risono said.

Antam aims to produce 10.5 million wet metric tons (wmt) of nickel, up 14 percent from last year's 9.2 million wmt. It aims to increase its sales by 18 percent to 8 million tons this year from 6.7 million tons last year.

Risono said Gag Nikel, based on Gag Island, Raja Ampat regency, West Papua, expected to produce up to 3 million tons of nickel starting from 2020 to supply the smelter, which will be constructed by Antam in a special economic zone (SEZ) in Sorong, West Papua.

Antam is conducting feasibility and bankable studies for the smelter project with total investment of US$1 billion. Antam aims to produce 40,000 tons of nickel and 500,000 tons of stainless steel annually in the smelter. (ars/bbn)

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