President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is scheduled to officially inaugurate the Smelter Grade Alumina (SGAR) project, also known as the Mempawah Project, in West Kalimantan in mid-September 2024.

The news of President Jokowi's planned attendance was hinted at when he visited the MIND ID booth during the LIKE Festival 2024. This has motivated the MIND ID Group to intensify efforts to enhance domestic value addition.

The bauxite refining project is managed by PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia (PT BAI), with PT Inalum holding a majority stake of 60%, and PT Aneka Tambang Tbk. (ANTM) or Antam holding the remaining 40%.

Melati Sarnita, Director of Business Development at Inalum, expressed her gratitude for the government's support, which she believes has enhanced the value of mineral and coal commodities, particularly in Mempawah, West Kalimantan.

"We are grateful to President Jokowi for visiting the MIND ID Group booth at the LIKE Festival 2024. It truly motivates us, especially in fulfilling the mandate to establish a national mining industry ecosystem," said Melati, quoted on Friday, August 9, 2024.

She explained that the Antam-Inalum consortium project continues to be managed in accordance with the targeted standards and schedule. The state-owned mining holding, MIND ID, is also said to be facilitating the optimization and acceleration of the project.

Following the construction process, Melati hopes that President Jokowi's presence at the smelter's inauguration will be realized during the commissioning process in September.

"We invited President Jokowi to SGAR Mempawah for the commissioning, where we plan to inject bauxite into the plant. That was the discussion. [Jokowi's response] was ready! He was very happy. Ready and willing to prepare [for the visit]," she said.

It's worth noting that in March, President Jokowi also visited the SGAR Mempawah project. He projected that by September, the progress of SGAR would reach 97%.

Meanwhile, the project is expected to reach the Commercial Operation Date (COD) in February 2025. The process of refining bauxite into alumina is anticipated to commence in the fourth quarter of 2024.

"Once operational, the plant will be capable of producing 1 million tons of alumina per year, with an estimated 3.3 million tons of bauxite as raw material per year. The project is divided into two phases and involves an investment of approximately USD 1.7 billion," she explained.