The downstreaming of nickel initiated by PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (NCKL) or Harita Nickel was able to deliver the economic growth of North Maluku province to the highest nationally.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the record for the highest economic growth in Indonesia was achieved by North Maluku at 23.89% on an annual basis (year-on-year/yoy) in the second quarter of 2023.

One of the drivers of North Maluku's economic growth was the rapid performance of the mining and quarrying sector by up to 64% yoy, followed by the processing industry which managed to grow 48.12% yoy.

In terms of employment, mining and quarrying and processing are able to contribute more than 50% in accumulation to the GRDP structure of North Maluku as of the second quarter of 2023.

On a quarterly basis, the two industries experienced the highest business growth, where mining and quarrying was 23.24%, followed by the processing industry at 15.71%.

This brilliant growth certainly did not happen without cause, NCKL's work as a downstream nickel business player helped increase North Maluku's economic growth through its subsidiary PT Trimegah Bangun Persada (TBP) Tbk.

TBP has a nickel mine located on Obi Island, South Halmahera, North Maluku Province. Mining operations have been running since 2010, and then continue to carry out transformations in advancing the industry by downstreaming nickel.

The company's nickel downstreaming efforts began with the establishment of the first smelter with Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace (RKEF) technology in 2016. Its work continues to produce second quality nickel that can be processed for stainless steel to raw materials for electric vehicle batteries.

This project to increase the added value of nickel received a special place from the government which placed the Obi Island Industrial Area as a National Strategic Project in 2020.

The following year, Harita Nickel's pioneering spirit returned to advance the nickel industry by establishing a limonite nickel refinery using High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) technology. However, at that time the refinery made by Harita Nickel had just produced an intermediate product which was a mixture of nickel and cobalt, Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP).

The refinery with this technology is the first to operate in Indonesia, even the results of nickel refining are claimed to have a lower carbon footprint and have a matte form making it easier to process further.

October 2022, Harita Nickel inaugurated the operation of the second RKEF smelter with a production capacity of 780,000 tons of ferronickel per year. A total of 3 nickel ore processing and refining plants are operated by this nation-owned company using two different technologies.

Harita Nickel's steps did not stop there. Seven months later, exactly at the end of May 2023 Harita Nickel successfully continued downstream by purifying MHP into the final product, nickel sulfate (NiSO4). The success of nickel sulfate production again makes Harita Nickel a pioneer in Indonesia and is the largest nickel sulfate factory in the world which has a production capacity of up to 240 thousand tons per year. This outstanding record makes Indonesia increasingly considered as a major player in the global electric vehicle battery industry.

The latest news is that the third RKEF smelter is in the process of being built and is expected to officially operate in 2025. Not only that, the second HPAL refinery will also be intensified to be operational by the middle of next year.

The rapid development of the factory in recent years also does not deny the need for more workers. As of June 30, 2023, the group's permanent and contract employees totaled 9,248, up from 9,168 at the end of March and 7,730 at the end of 2022.

Downstreaming also increasingly shows real achievements in the performance of North Maluku nickel exports, during the first six months of this year nickel export growth shot up to 46.69% yoy to USD 833.01 billion. In the same period, volume also increased rapidly from the previous 105.99 billion kilograms to 157.79 kilograms, a jump of 48.86% yoy.

The performance of nickel exports has helped support North Maluku's trade balance which remains in surplus at USD 3.23 billion, even though the overall export and import performance of the province is still down 7.67% and 10.27% respectively compared to last May, according to data from BPS.

On the other hand, it should also be acknowledged that North Maluku's rapid economic growth is also driven by Central Halmahera Regency, which has the highest growth. In 2022, the district's economic growth will reach 102.31% yoy, far surpassing South Halmahera, where the Harita factory operates, at 21.34% yoy.

Comparison of Economic Growth Rate of Districts/Cities in 2022 across North Maluku Province (in %)

This is the result of the contribution from Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), which serves as an integrated industrial zone for heavy metal processing. It is situated in Lelilef Village, Weda District, Central Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province.

Image source: Harita Group

Source: www.cnbcindonesia.com/KontribusiNCKL Bawa Ekonomi Maluku Utara Jadi Nomor 1 Di RI