Harita Nickel through its business unit PT Halmahera Persada Lygend (PT HPL) which is a business affiliate company from PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk. (NCKL) has inaugurated the operation of the first nickel sulfate production in Indonesia and the largest in the world.
Nickel sulfate is the main ingredient constituent of an electric vehicle battery cathode precursor. The inauguration of the Nickel Sulfate production operation with a capacity of 240,000 tons per year was carried out in the Harita Nickel operational area on Obi Island, South Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province, Wednesday (5/31).
Director of PT. Halmahera Persada Lygend, Tonny H. Gultom said, Harita Nickel through PT HPL in collaboration with Lygend Resources Technology Co., Ltd, produced Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) as a raw material for electric vehicle batteries. The nickel sulfate factory, which was established on Obi Island, is claimed to be the first factory in Indonesia to produce it as well as being the largest in the world in terms of production capacity. The first export of nickel sulfate is planned to be carried out in June 2024.
“In the case of NISO4 production capacity, the Company will continue to improve and increase its capacity to reach 240,000 metric tons/year with a metal nickel content of 54,000 tons/year and is targeted to be achieved in mid-Q2 in 2024,” Tonny said in a written statement on Thursday (1/6).
Tonny revealed, on this mineral-rich Obi Island, his party would build an integrated mining industry from upstream to downstream. Starting from mining in 2010 through PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk, Harita Nickel has done what is the mandate of the government about the spirit of downstreaming.
Since 2015, Harita Nickel has downstreaming through high levels of nickel processing through PT Megah Surya Pertiwi with 4 ferronickel production lines. “In 2018 we began to build downstreaming the processing of low-level nickel limonite which had been treated as over-burden (residual rocks) mixed hydroide precipitate,” said Tonny.
The downstream industry officially operated in June 2021 through the affiliation of PT Halmahera Persada Lygend. Furthermore, another Harita Nickel subsidiary, PT Halmahera Jaya Feronikel (PT HJF) in the first semester of 2023, has completed the construction of ferronickel smelters with 8 production lines. “The spirit of downstreaming is integrated in the form of a business road map, which to this day is proud and gratitude, holding hands with our partners from Lygend Resources Technology Co., Ltd., has succeeded Tonny.
Meanwhile Zhang Bao Dong, Director of PT Halmahera Persada Lygend who is also a representative of Lygend Resources Technology Co., Ltd. said, Lygend was very proud to work with Harita Group and produced a HPAL factory to its derivatives, Nickel Sulfat.
“We hope that in the future Harita and Lygend will jointly build the downstreaming industry in order to have a sustainable economic impact,” Zhang said.
December 28, 2023, CNBC Indonesia
(https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/market/20231228153217-17-500990/ri-resmi-punya-pabrik-nikel-sulfat-pertama-terbesar-di-dunia)