PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara has reported significant progress in the construction of their copper smelter facility in West Sumbawa, with the mechanical completion slated for May 2024.
“By the end of this month, we will achieve mechanical completion and will be ready to enter the commissioning phase,” Hilmi Panigoro, President Commissioner of PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara, said on Wednesday, May 16, 2024.
The commissioning phase is expected to take six months. Since then, the smelter which is located in Batu Hijau, Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, will undergo cold and hot commissioning processes.
“We anticipate full operations by the first quarter of 2025, with an annual capacity of approximately 900,000 kilotons (kt) per year,” Hilmi said.
Previously, PT Amman Mineral Industri, a subsidiary of PT Amman Mineral Internasional (AMMN), reported their quarterly progress from October 2023 to December 2023.
Independent verifiers confirmed that the copper smelter’s construction progress had reached 76.1 percent, surpassing the planned 72.4 percent (105.1 percent). The precious metals refinery (PMR) construction progress stood at 72.7 percent, exceeding the 72.1 percent target (100.7 percent).
Earlier, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations at AMMAN, Kartika Octaviana, expressed confidence in the ongoing construction.
“We are on track to complete the physical construction by the end of May 2024 and start the commissioning process in June 2024,” she said on February 5, 2024.
Kartika reiterated Hilmi’s sentiments, noting that once operational, the combined smelter and PMR facilities will have an input capacity of around 900,000 ktpa of concentrate from the Batu Hijau mine and the Elang project.
The output will include 222 ktpa of copper cathodes and 830 ktpa of sulfuric acid. The PMR facility will produce 18 tpa of gold bars, 55 tpa of silver bars, and 70 tpa of selenium.
In addition, AMMAN signed a Preliminary Agreement with Pertamina last September to secure a more environmentally friendly energy source − LNG − for the gas and steam power plant currently under construction to support the operations of the smelter and PMR facilities.
