Vale Advances Tanamalia Mine in Indonesia with European Automaker Partner
07 Aug 2026, 04:17 PM
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PT Vale Indonesia Tbk. (INCO) is exploring cooperation in the development of the new Tanamalia mine in the Sorowako Block, South Sulawesi, by partnering with a European automaker.Vale Indonesia Director and Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer Budiawansyah said the project is planned to be integrated with a high pressure acid leach (HPAL)-based hydrometallurgical smelter, which requires limonite nickel ore.“This is the future and it is now being initiated. This is cooperation in the Tanamalia Block. It is very special because one of our partners is a leading vehicle manufacturer from Europe,” Budiawansyah said at the Hipmi Grand Seminar on Thursday (Aug. 6, 2026).According to the presentation materials shown, the development of the mine is currently at the second stage of the front end loading (FEL) study, covering the preparation of the feasibility study (FS), economic feasibility, development and technical aspects, operations, legal matters, as well as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects.Meanwhile, the HPAL smelter project will be built together with a partner and is currently at the partner selection stage.Furthermore, the Tanamalia Block is part of Vale Indonesia’s special mining business permit (IUPK), which covers the Loeha, Lemo-Lemo, and Lingkona IUPK sub-blocks, with a total area of 13,556 hectares (ha).The Tanamalia Block is also located within the Sorowako forest area, with a further exploration permit covering 17,239 ha. The Tanamalia area encompasses Loeha village and a small part of Rante Angin village in East Luwu.It was explained that if the nickel content is sufficiently adequate, construction will begin in 2027—2028, with mining commencing as early as 2031.Vale’s Nickel ReservesFor information, Vale Indonesia Head of Studies and Exploration Tyas Agustinus Rabudianto said the company’s nickel reserves as of Dec. 31, 2025, stood at 1.18 billion wet tonnes, or around 664 million dry tonnes. The reserves can be mined for up to 20 years.Vale also has nickel resources of around 1.67 billion wet tonnes, equivalent to 1 billion dry tonnes. Therefore, the company’s reserves can still be increased to support around 50 years of mining.Tyas said the unmined nickel reserves consist of 695.57 million wet tonnes of limonite (low-grade nickel) and 489.40 million wet tonnes of saprolite (high-grade nickel).For resources, limonite ore is estimated at 657.1 million wet tonnes, while saprolite stands at 1.02 billion wet tonnes.“At least 20 years. For our reserves, we still have resources that we have not used. One and a half times what we have now. If combined, it could total around 50 years,” Tyas said during a public discussion in South Jakarta on Wednesday (April 29, 2026).Tyas said the company allocates around 2% of its revenue, or about USD 15—USD 16 million per year, for exploration costs, so the company’s nickel ore resources and reserves are expected to continue increasing.The exploration budget can also be increased if needed in the future. Tyas claimed that the board of directors had already instructed this.Currently, of Vale Indonesia’s total concession area of 118,017 ha, only around 68% has been explored.VW Eyes Vale ProjectMeanwhile, German automaker Volkswagen AG (VW) was previously reported to have expressed interest in working with Vale Indonesia on the development of an electric vehicle battery ecosystem.Associate Energy Analyst at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Secretariat General Fitria Astuti Firman said the government is preparing national ESG standards through a gap analysis between domestic regulations and international standards to accommodate foreign investors in the critical minerals sector.In this regard, she said VW is interested in entering Vale’s nickel project subject to strict ESG requirements.“This step is crucial so that Indonesian mineral products can be absorbed into global supply chains. A successful example of this implementation is PT Vale’s cooperation with global automotive giants such as Ford and Volkswagen, which require compliance with global ESG standards,” she said at an Indef public discussion on Wednesday (June 17, 2026).Previously, VW, through its battery division PowerCO, was indeed reported to have been interested in partnering with Vale, Ford Motor Co., and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.Bahlil Lahadalia, when he was still Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), also confirmed the reports. He said VW was interested in building an electric vehicle battery industry.“VW will cooperate with several national and foreign companies. We are ready to oversee the investment plan so that it can be realized soon,” Bahlil said in a press release on Tuesday (April 18, 2023).PowerCo SE is a Volkswagen subsidiary established in 2022 and headquartered in Salzgitter, Germany.PowerCo handles all of Volkswagen Group’s battery activities, from processing raw materials and developing batteries to managing its European gigafactories.For information, based on INCO data as of April 2026, the Indonesia Growth Project (IGP) Pomalaa has attracted attention due to its largest investment value, reaching US$4.5 billion, through collaboration with Ford and Huayou.To date, construction progress on the HPAL plant at the site has reached 65%, while development of the mining sector has reached 72%.The project is claimed to employ more than 5,000 workers and is targeted to begin production in August 2026 with a capacity of 120,000 tonnes of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) per year.On Feb. 28, 2026, Vale sold the first nickel ore from the mine at the project. The company is targeting production of 300,000 tonnes of limonite per month, or around 9,677 tonnes per day.Meanwhile, the IGP Morowali smelter project has entered the operational stage. The Bahodopi Block, covering 22,699 ha, reportedly began operations in the first quarter of 2025.For the mining sector, Phase 1 construction has reached 100%, and the company is now focusing on preparations to complete Phase 2, which is targeted for completion in 2027. Vale said that by early 2026, 2.2 million tonnes of ore had been sold from the project.Meanwhile, construction progress on the HPAL plant, developed in partnership with GEM and EcoPro and having a capacity of 66,000 tonnes of MHP per year, has reached 27% and is targeted to begin operations this year. Total investment in the project amounts to USD 2 billion.In South Sulawesi, Vale and Huayou are developing the IGP Sorowako Limonite project in the 70,566-ha Sorowako Block to support the downstream processing of limonite nickel.As of April 2026, construction of the mine had reached 42%, while progress on the HPAL plant stood at 18%.The facility is designed to have an annual production capacity of 60,000 tonnes of MHP and is targeted to be fully operational in 2027.
