Proud Moment!, Indonesia's First Nickel Sulphate Exporting Today

SNIPERS.NEWS | Halsel - PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (NCKL), through its associated entity, PT Halmahera Persada Lygend (PT HPL), officially made its initial export of nickel sulphate today, Friday, June 16th, 2023. A total of 5,584 tons of nickel sulphate, packaged in 290 containers, is ready to be shipped to one of NCKL's business partners in China. This marks a significant milestone for NCKL in the nickel downstream business.

The refined nickel sulphate on Obi Island, South Halmahera, North Maluku Province, will be used in the production of high-nickel lithium batteries. The use of these lithium batteries is expected to continue to rise in the future, particularly in the electric vehicle industry.

NCKL's President Director, Roy A. Arfandy, stated that the total shipment of nickel sulphate is targeted to reach 240,000 tons per year, in line with the factory's production capacity. The company is also currently in the trial production phase of cobalt sulphate. "Moving forward, the company will strive to send approximately four ships to meet the targeted demand for nickel sulphate production," said Roy.

Roy also expressed his appreciation for the achievement of this initial nickel sulphate shipment. "This is the work of us in Eastern Indonesia, which is an important step for Indonesia to become a key player in the electric vehicle battery industry in the future, as well as a new contributor to the export of downstream nickel products that can drive regional and national economies," said Roy.

PT Halmahera Persada Lygend recently inaugurated the operation of the first nickel sulphate plant in Indonesia, also the largest in the world in terms of production capacity, on May 31st. This historic moment was attended and inaugurated by the Deputy for Investment and Mining Coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Septian Hario Seto.

In his speech last May, Seto conveyed that this achievement is impressive and extraordinary, demonstrating how local and foreign investors can collaborate effectively. "The mining and downstream operations carried out by NCKL are among the best. This was revealed by international consultants who can certify the mining and production processes," said Seto. 

It is known that Seto's visit to the Obi Island site operated by NCKL at the end of May was accompanied by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) consultants.

Currently, NCKL continues to strive to enhance the nickel resource industry value chain by producing cobalt sulphate. Alongside nickel sulphate, this concentrate is a crucial element in the formation of cathode precursors for electric vehicle batteries. 

"Being a manufacturing company of new energy materials that prioritizes environmental management, community empowerment, and contributes to the development of the industry is our medium-term target," concluded Roy.

About PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk

PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (“TBP”) operates integrated mining and downstream operations on Obi Island, South Halmahera, North Maluku. 

In addition to having a mining permit, since 2016 the company through its subsidiaries has owned a saprolite (high grade) nickel smelter and a limonite (low grade) nickel refinery since 2021 in the same operational area. 

The two facilities are here to support the downstream mandate from the Indonesian government by utilizing the nickel mining products of TBP and its subsidiaries engaged in nickel mining. Through PT Halmahera Persada Lygend (HPL), TBP is also a pioneer in Indonesia in processing and refining nickel limonite using High Pressure Acid Leach technology. 

This technology is capable of processing limonite nickel which has not been utilized into a product of strategic value, namely Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP). MHP is further processed into Nickel Sulfate (NiSO4) and Cobalt Sulfate (CoSO4), which are raw materials for electric vehicle batteries.*