Indonesia’s largest nickel sulfate factory, operated by Harita Nickel through its business unit PT Halmahera Persada Lygend, has been officially inaugurated.
The inauguration of the nickel sulfate production operation, with a capacity of 240,000 tons per year, took place in the operational area of Harita Nickel on Obi Island, South Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province, on May 31, 2023.
The inauguration was marked by the signing of a plaque by Septian Hario Seto, Deputy of Investment and Mining Coordination of the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment. Nickel sulfate is a key component in the production of cathode precursors for electric vehicle batteries.
Collaboration with Lygend Resources Technology Co., Ltd.
Tonny H. Gultom, Director of PT Halmahera Persada Lygend, stated that his company, in collaboration with Lygend Resources Technology Co., Ltd., a Chinese nickel mining company, made history with the inauguration of the nickel sulfate plant.
In June 2021, the company had also produced Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate as a raw material for electric vehicle batteries, making it a pioneer of the industry in Indonesia.
Gultom mentioned that the nickel sulfate plant on Obi Island is the first of its kind in Indonesia.
The company will continue to improve and increase the capacity of nickel sulfate production to reach 240,000 metric tons per year, with a nickel metal content of 54,000 tons per year by mid-Q2 2023.
“The inaugural export of nickel sulfate is planned for June 2023,” said Gultom.
He further added that Harita Nickel remains committed to building an integrated mining industry from upstream to downstream on Obi Island, a project that had begun in 2010 through PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk.
Gultom stated that Harita Nickel has fulfilled the government’s mandate regarding the spirit of downstreaming.
Since 2015, Harita Nickel has been engaged in downstreaming through the processing of high-grade nickel (saprolite) via PT Megah Surya Pertiwi, which operates four ferro-nickel production lines.
“In 2018, we started the downstreaming process of processing low-grade limonite nickel, which has traditionally been treated as a byproduct of Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate,” Gultom explained.
