PT Vale Indonesia Tbk. (INCO) stated that 2025 will be a crucial year for the company as it must complete three strategic projects. INCO's President Director, Febriany Eddy, mentioned that the completion of these projects includes a downstream processing plant.

"Our focus is on 2025. The years 2025 and 2026 are the most critical for PT Vale because we need to complete three strategic projects, which include the development of new mining operations in three provinces: Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, and South Sulawesi, including the downstream plant," he said during a meeting with Commission VI at the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) in Jakarta on Thursday (March 13).

She elaborated on the latest updates regarding the three projects. These projects involve the construction of HPAL (High Pressure Acid Leaching) plants for the processing and refining of nickel ore to extract nickel and cobalt.

First, the project in Central Sulawesi has already been built, including several of its facilities. This project is designed to be a carbon-neutral or net-zero emissions plant.

"Two-thirds of the energy will come from waste heat recovery, a third from solar panels, and the last part will use biomass to replace high-carbon materials. So, the groundwork is already visible there," she explained.

The mining aspect has reached 70%, with a target completion by the second quarter of this year. The plant itself is targeted to be completed by mid-2026.

Next, the Pomalaa plant in Southeast Sulawesi is targeted to complete the mining project by the first quarter of 2026, with the plant also scheduled to be finished at the same time.

"The progress is quite promising. As you saw, the autoclave is already finished. We are now upgrading the port to bring the equipment into Indonesia as quickly as possible," she stated.

This project is a collaboration with Ford Motor Company from the USA and Huayou Metal Cobalt.

Finally, the Sorowako Limonite HPAL project in South Sulawesi is designed with carbon emissions starting at 7 tons per ton, with a capacity of 60,000 tons of nickel. The project is expected to be completed by 2027 and is currently in the environmental impact assessment (AMDAL) application stage.

"In summary, the Pomalaa and Morowali plants must be completed by 2026, while the Sorowako Limonite project will be finished in 2027. The total investment in new mining and plants, along with partners, is around USD 9 billion," she said.

He added that these projects will create jobs for about 5,000 people, with the target to increase this number to 12,000 by the end of the year.

"This is an extraordinary focus for us because we are building three projects simultaneously," she concluded.