The copper and precious metals processing facility, or smelter, built by PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara in West Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), was officially inaugurated by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Monday, September 23, 2024.
The smelter was completed after 14 months of construction.
Hilmi Panigoro, President Commissioner of PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara, claimed that the construction of this smelter was one of the fastest in the world.
"In just 14 months, we successfully completed the construction of this mega copper smelter project, along with its supporting facilities, in line with the targets set by the Indonesian government. The physical construction of this mega project is one of the fastest in the world for similar scale projects," Hilmi said in a statement on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
He explained that the smelter, which is a part of a national strategic project, is part of the company's efforts to develop Indonesia's mining industry. The goal is to support the creation of a downstream mineral industry and strengthen the resilience of the national industry.
"We hope that with the operation of this copper smelter, Indonesia's position in the global copper supply chain will become stronger and support the government's efforts to maintain domestic economic resilience through the mining sector," he added.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, stated that this copper smelter in West Sumbawa is the first smelter in Indonesia to be built by a national entrepreneur. He commended Amman's successful completion of the smelter project on schedule.
"This is the first smelter owned by a national entrepreneur. Amman is a company that has laid the foundation for building a long history of copper sector downstreaming," Bahlil said.
With this smelter, Amman's mining operations are now fully integrated, from exploration, mining, processing, and refining through the copper and precious metals smelter.
The smelter utilizes advanced Double Flash Smelting technology, which combines flash smelting and flash converting processes. This technology produces high-quality premium copper while adhering to safety standards and environmental preservation.
The smelter has an installed input capacity of 900,000 tons of concentrate per year (ktpa), which will be supplied from the Batu Hijau mine and the Elang mine in the future.
The smelter's products include 222,000 tons of copper cathodes per year (tpa) with 99.99% purity, as well as 830,000 tons of sulfuric acid per year with 98.5% purity.
Additionally, it will produce 18 tons of gold bars per year with 99.99% purity, 55 tons of silver bars per year with 99.95% purity, and 77 tons of selenium per year with 99.9% purity.
