Jakarta, 18 October 2022 – The construction of the PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (AMMAN) smelter project in West Sumbawa Regency (KBS) continues to be implemented in accordance with the company’s commitment to complete it under the mandate of the Indonesia Government. However, the completion of the smelter with a production capacity of 222,000 tons of cathode copper will certainly be delayed to the end of 2024. This was conveyed by the President Director of AMMAN, Rachmat Makkasau, at the 2022 Investor Daily Summit at JCC Senayan, Wednesday (12/10).
“The challenge that we face is a force majeure and is not only experienced by AMMAN but also by other companies building copper smelters. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years has been enormous and also the impact of the Russian and Ukrainian wars, hampering the process and commitment of suppliers from Europe and Asia,” explained Rachmat, who is also the Chairperson of the Indonesian Mining Association (IMA).
Despite facing various challenges, various developments for smelter construction have been carried out, such as purchase orders for all equipment with critical functions with very long delivery times. AMMAN is also conducting a gradual recruitment process that is adjusted to the stages of construction in collaboration with the West Sumbawa Regency and West Nusa Tenggara Provincial governments. Collaboration with the local and national government is urgently needed to guarantee licensing certainty and create a safe and conducive situation to minimize construction constraints.
In addition to the smelter completion target, during the Investor Daily Summit 2022 event at JCC Senayan, Wednesday (12/10), Rachmat also conveyed several requests and production plans for Indonesian copper cathodes in his presentation. “The supply of raw materials for our copper industry is already underway and will be ready in 2025. It is estimated that Indonesia will produce 1.1 million tons of copper cathodes in 2025, while domestic absorption is only around 300 thousand tons. This is an opportunity for the government and business actors in the industrial sector to prepare the domestic industry to absorb this copper cathode raw material,” concluded Rachmat.
