Harita Nickel (NCKL) Accelerates Three Strategic Projects on Obi Island
Wed 01 Jul 2026, 10:22 AM
Share
PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (NCKL), or Harita Nickel, is accelerating the completion of three strategic projects in the Obi Island Industrial Estate, North Maluku.
The three main projects include the third Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace (RKEF) nickel processing facility, a limestone processing plant to produce quicklime, and a tailings recycling facility.
NCKL President Director Roy Arman Arfandy said the third RKEF smelter project, developed through its subsidiary PT Karunia Permai Sentosa (KPS), consists of 12 production lines with an installed capacity of 185,000 tonnes of nickel metal in the form of ferronickel (FeNi) per year.
"KPS is our third RKEF plant. It is currently in the finalisation process," he said during an online public expose on Tuesday (June 30, 2026).
The company completed the construction of 10 production lines throughout 2025. Meanwhile, the construction of the final two production lines was completed in the first quarter of 2026, marking the completion of the entire physical construction phase of the plant's main facilities.
Currently, management has begun gradual operational ramp-up at several production lines towards full operational capacity.
Roy said the company targets all 12 production lines under KPS to operate at full capacity by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, additional supply from KPS is projected to increase Harita Nickel’s accumulated installed ferronickel capacity on Obi Island to 305,000 tonnes of nickel per year by the end of 2026. The portfolio complements the company’s two existing processing facilities, which had already reached full operations.
For information, the company’s first smelting facility is operated through PT Megah Surya Pertiwi (MSP), with a production capacity of 25,000 tonnes of nickel per year.
Furthermore, PT Halmahera Jaya Feronikel (HJF) operates eight fully operational production lines with an installed capacity of 95,000 tonnes of nickel per year.
In addition to increasing ferronickel output, Harita Nickel is accelerating the development of integrated supporting projects to reduce reliance on external costs.
One of these projects is the construction of a quicklime plant through joint venture company PT Cipta Kemakmuran Mitra (CKM).
The entity is responsible for producing quicklime, a key chemical component supporting the refining process of low-grade nickel ore (limonite) at High-Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL)-based hydrometallurgical facilities.
"CKM will produce quicklime to be used in the HPAL process at both PT Halmahera Persada Lygend and Obi Nickel Cobalt, both of which are HPAL plants that we already operate on Obi Island," Roy said.
The output from one CKM production line will be directly allocated to supply the operational needs of the company’s two existing HPAL facilities operated by its subsidiaries, namely PT Halmahera Persada Lygend (HPL) and PT Obi Nickel Cobalt (ONC).
Advertisement
