Harita Nickel through its business unit PT Halmahera Persada Lygend (PT HPL) which is a business affiliate of PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk. (NCKL) has inaugurated the first nickel sulphate production operation in Indonesia and considerably the largest in the world.
Nickel sulphate is the main ingredient for the cathode precursor of electric vehicle batteries. The inauguration of the nickel sulphate production operation with a capacity of 240 thousand tons per year was carried out in the Harita Nickel operational area on Obi Island, South Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province, last May.
Director of PT Halmahera Persada Lygend, Tonny H. Gultom said, Harita Nickel through PT HPL in collaboration with Lygend Resources Technology Co., Ltd, produces Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) as raw material for electric vehicle batteries.
The nickel sulphate plant, which is located on Obi Island, is claimed to be the first factory in Indonesia and the largest in the world in terms of production capacity.
“In terms of NiSO4 production capacity, the Company will continue to make improvements and increase its capacity to reach 240,000 metric tons/year with a nickel metal content of 54,000 tons/year and is targeted to be achieved in mid Q2 of 2023,” Tonny said in a statement in June this year. Tonny revealed, on the mineral-rich Obi Island, his party will build an integrated mining industry from upstream to downstream. Starting from mining in 2010 through PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk, Harita Nickel has done what the government mandates the spirit of downstream.Since 2015, Harita Nickel has downstreamed the processing of high grade nickel (saprolite) through PT Megah Surya Pertiwi with 4 ferronickel production lines.
“In 2018 we began to build downstream processing of low-grade limonite nickel which has been treated as over-burden (waste rock) Mixed Hydroide Precipitate,” Tonny said.
The downstream industry officially operated in June 2021 through affiliate PT Halmahera Persada Lygend. Furthermore, another subsidiary of Harita Nickel, namely PT Halmahera Jaya Feronikel (PT HJF) in the first semester of 2023 has completed the construction of a ferronickel smelter with 8 production lines.
“This downstream spirit is integrated in the form of a business roadmap, which to this day with pride and gratitude, hand in hand with our partners from Lygend Resources Technology Co., Ltd, has successfully risen to a new level of achievement with the production of nickel sulfate,” said Tonny.
Meanwhile, Deputy for Investment and Mining Coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investmen, Septian Hario Seto said, what Harita Nickel produced was a very extraordinary historic achievement.
“We repeat the history of 2 years ago with Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment inaugurating the first HPAL factory. This is something to be proud of, where today we will inaugurate nickel sulfate which is a derivative product of nickel which can later be processed into precursors,” said Septian.
Septian also advised that good environmental management on Obi Island can be continued. In addition, contributions to the surrounding community as well as CSR programmes and targeted community assistance should also be maintained. “I think this will create harmony and harmony between the company and the community,” Septian concluded.
Meanwhile Zhang Bao Dong, Director of PT Halmahera Persada Lygend who is also a representative of Lygend Resources Technology Co., Ltd said, Lygend is very proud to be able to work with the Harita Group and produce HPAL factories to its derivatives, namely nickel sulfate.
“We hope that in the future Harita and Lygend will jointly build a downstream industry to provide sustainable economic impact,” Zhang said. Meanwhile, South Halmahera Regent Usman Sidik said he proud to be able to witness the success of PT HPL, which produced the first nickel sulphate in Indonesia. “For us this is extraordinary and is certainly expected to have a positive impact on the people of South Halmahera,” Usman said.
