The Corporate Secretary of PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTM), Kunto Hendrapawoko, stated that currently, the construction work of the ferronickel factory/smelter located in East Halmahera has reached 98%.

"This year, our focus is on completing the smelter construction, especially at the Haltim ferronickel plant so that we can contribute immediately, amid the increasingly positive prospects for nickel going forward," he said in an online press conference, Wednesday (7/4).

According to Kunto, this ferronickel smelter has a capacity of 13,000 tons of nickel in ferronickel (TNi). If the smelter work completes, Antam's total ferronickel capacity will be 40,000 TNi from the current 27,000 TNi.

For ferronickel products, the company targets production and sales volumes this year to reach 26,000 tons TNi or relatively similar to last year's 25,970 TNi and 26,163 TNi, respectively.

In addition to focusing on the construction of the Haltim ferronickel smelter, Antam will also focus on expanding downstream mineral processing, expanding the planning and resource base, forging partnerships for new preparations, and developing innovations to reduce costs and competitiveness and improve core businesses.

This year, Antam plans to allocate a capital expenditure of Rp2.84 trillion, which will be used to complete the construction of the Haltim ferronickel smelter, supply factory electricity, continue the construction phase Smelter Grade Alumina Refinery Memawah project, as well as other strategic investments.

"Capital expenditures from internal and exploring the external ones to be selected are those that provide a competitive cost of funds for the company," he said.