JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – State miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) Tbk (ANTM) prepares the construction of Electric Smelting Furnace (ESF) No. 4 (ESF-4), part of ferronickel plant expansion project in Pomalaa.
Antam targets to produce 18,000 tons of nickel this year. As of May 2013, ANTM’s ferronickel production reached 8,448 tons, or 47% of this year’s target (of production).
ESF-4, replacing operation of ESF-1, will have installed capacity of 38 MW and production capacity of 9,450 TNi per ton of ferronickel.
The construction of ESF-4 will take maximum 22 months. Antam will also build Ore Preparation Line-4, taking 27 months for completion, for supporting operation of ESF-4.
The operation of ESF-4 and Ore Preparation Line-4 will expectedly boost ferronickel production to 25,000-27,000 TNi per year, from previous 18,000-20,000 TNi per year.
By Ferdi Hasiman