Huayou reveals progress on $4.5 billion nickel project with Vale & Ford

Published on 12/03/2024 at 10:59 GMT+7 Reading time

Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., along with PT Vale Indonesia (INCO), is working to secure environmental impact assessment (AMDAL) permits for the high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) smelter investment plan in Pomalaa Block, Southeast Sulawesi.

"The AMDAL is in progress, the plant design team is currently working on the detailed engineering design [DED]," Huayou Indonesia's Deputy Director of External Affairs, Stevanus, said March 4, 2024.

Stevanus targets the project, with an investment value of US$4.5 billion or around Rp67.5 trillion, to be operational by 2026. In this nickel ore processing project in Pomalaa Block, Huayou holds a majority stake of 53 percent, while the rest is held by INCO at 30 percent and Ford Motor Co. at 17 percent.

"The total investment can be calculated proportionally," said Stevanus. The HPAL plant will process ore supplied by INCO from the Pomalaa Block mine to produce nickel, with an output of 120 kilotons of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) per year. The nickel product is expected to be low-cost and used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries with nickel-rich cathodes.

As previously reported, INCO and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. have officially partnered with Ford Motor Company in the nickel-based battery raw material plant project. Ford Motor Company directly holds shares in PT Kolaka Nickel Indonesia (KNI) along with INCO and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. The American company now holds an 8.5 percent stake in KNI as of December 21, 2023.

This collaboration will provide essential materials for the transition of the automotive industry to EVs, enhance Indonesia's EV manufacturing industry, and support Ford's plan to produce 2 million EVs by the end of 2026 and further scale up gradually.

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