Nickel mining in Indonesia began with small-scale exploratory mining operations during the Dutch East Indies era and began to expand in the 1960s. Most of Indonesia's proven nickel reserves are located in the islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera, and the country has the largest annual production and reserves of nickel in the world.
Nickel ore was first prospected in Indonesia (then known as Dutch East Indies) in 1901 in the Verbeek Mountains of Sulawesi by a Dutch mineralogist, with further discoveries in what is today Kolaka Regency in 1909. A Canadian geologist from Inco further prospected the existing deposits and in 1934 exploration efforts from a Dutch mining firm began. Initial production began in 1936 to 1941, with operations being expanded during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. After the independence of Indonesia, the American Freeport Sulphur Company attempted to establish operations, but failed due to security concerns. NV Perto, a local company, took over operations then until it was taken over by the Indonesian government. [1] Following the takeover, the company was restructured by the government as PN Pertambangan Nikel Indonesia in 1961. It was later merged into Aneka Tambang, which began exporting nickel ore to Japan by 1969. The International Nickel Company also began establishing metallurgical operations in the 1970s, with commercial nickel production commencing in 1978. [2]
In January 2014, the Indonesian government announced a ban on the export of a range of mineral ores, including nickel, in an attempt to develop local smelter industries. [3] The ban was rolled back in 2017, with the Indonesian government initially noting that mining companies would be permitted to export ore until 2022, but in 2019, the deadline was moved back to January 2020. Government minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan stated that the government intended for Indonesian firms to enter the supply chain for lithium batteries - which utilizes nickel in its production. [4] The ban's announcement resulted in the world nickel price jumping by 8.8% to its highest in five years. [5]
In April 2020, a regulation to set a minimum price of nickel was issued, effective in 13 May. The regulation was requested by the Indonesian Nickel Miners Association (APNI) to protect small miners. It was criticized by a representative of the Processing and Smelting Companies Association (AP3I) for limiting the ability to adjust for fluctuations in price. [6] In June 2020, 20% of Vale Indonesia was acquired by Mind Id, a state-owned mining holding company, for $390 million. [7]
Indonesia is the largest nickel producer in the world, with around 1.6 million tonnes of nickel produced in 2022, up from 1.04 million tonnes in 2021. In comparison, total global production of nickel in 2022 was around 3.3 million tonnes. [8] Nickel production in Indonesia is primarily conducted by Vale's PT Vale Indonesia and Aneka Tambang, [9] whose combined employment was 5,820 people in 2017, not accounting for jobs related to processing and in metallurgical industries such as the 43,000 employees at Morowali Industrial Park. [10] [11] In 2020, production is expected to drop due to the export ban. [12] Additionally, Indonesia also produces cobalt as a byproduct of nickel mining, with 9,500 tonnes of cobalt or 5 percent of global production in 2022, making the country the world's second largest cobalt producer behind the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [13]
The largest production sites for nickel are located in the provinces of South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and North Maluku. Outside of the mentioned provinces, there are also nickel mines operating in Paser Regency (East Kalimantan), Raja Ampat Regency (West Papua) and in West Seram Regency (Maluku). Further reserves in Papua has also been explored. [14] [15]
On 28 December 2021, Indonesia unveiled a new nickel smelter in North Morowali Regency of Central Sulawesi. It has been equipped to process 13 million tons of nickel ore annually. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that the new ferronickel-producing smelter is expected to increase the nickel ore’s value by 1400%. [16] The largest concentrations of nickel processing in the country are located at the Morowali Industrial Park in North Morowali and the Weda Bay Industrial Park in Halmahera. [17]
The most important Indonesian nickel ores are lateritic, [18] primarily located in Sulawesi and Halmahera with mining operations centered at ultramafic rock outcrops. [9] While the lateritic nickel ores are more difficult to smelt compared to nickel sulfide ores, it is more extractable due to its location on the surface. [19] In 2019, it was reported that Indonesia possessed proven reserves of 698 million tonnes of nickel ore, with a potential 2.8 billion tonnes when accounting for unproven reserves. [20] The United States Geological Service reported Indonesia's nickel reserves to be 21 million tonnes, compared to the global reserve of 89 million tonnes in 2018. [21] Indonesia's laterite deposits are estimated to comprise 15 percent of the global reserves. [19]
Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
Ferroalloy refers to various alloys of iron with a high proportion of one or more other elements such as manganese (Mn), aluminium (Al), or silicon (Si). They are used in the production of steels and alloys. The alloys impart distinctive qualities to steel and cast iron or serve important functions during production and are, therefore, closely associated with the iron and steel industry, the leading consumer of ferroalloys. The leading producers of ferroalloys in 2014 were China, South Africa, India, Russia and Kazakhstan, which accounted for 84% of the world production. World production of ferroalloys was estimated as 52.8 million tonnes in 2015.
Sherritt International is a Canadian resource company, based in Toronto, Ontario. Sherritt is a world leader in the mining and refining of nickel and cobalt – metals essential for the growing adoption of electric vehicles. Its Technologies Group creates innovative, proprietary solutions for oil and mining companies around the world to improve environmental performance and increase economic value. Sherritt is also the largest independent energy producer in Cuba. Sherritt’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “S”.
Norilsk Nickel, or Nornickel, is a Russian nickel and palladium mining and smelting company. Its largest operations are located in the Norilsk–Talnakh area near the Yenisei River in the north of Siberia. It also has holdings in Nikel, Zapolyarny, and Monchegorsk on the Kola Peninsula, in Harjavalta in western Finland, and in South Africa.
Mining in Western Australia, together with the petroleum industry in the state, accounted for 94% of the State's and 46% of Australia's income from total merchandise exports in 2019–20. The state of Western Australia hosted 123 predominantly higher value and export-oriented mining projects and hundreds of smaller quarries and mines. The principal projects produced more than 99 per cent of the industry's total sales value.
Lateritic nickel ore deposits are surficial, weathered rinds formed on ultramafic rocks. They account for 73% of the continental world nickel resources and will be in the future the dominant source for the mining of nickel.
Despite being a mineral rich country, Cameroon has only recently begun to investigate mining on an industrial scale. Strong metal and industrial mineral prices since 2003 have encouraged companies to develop mines here. The terrain mainly consists of granite-rich ground with areas of ultramafic rocks that are sources of cobalt and nickel. There are also deposits of bauxite, gold, iron ore, nepheline syenite, and rutile. Alluvial gold is mainly mined by artisanal miners.
The Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine is a nickel mine and hydrometallurgical processing plant located at Bandalup Hill, 35 km (22 mi) east of Ravensthorpe, Western Australia.
Nickel mining in New Caledonia is a major sector of the New Caledonian economy. The island contains about 7.1 million tonnes of nickel reserves, about 10% of the world's total. With an annual production of 200,000 tonnes in 2020, New Caledonia was the world's fourth largest producer after Indonesia (760,000), Philippines (320,000), and Russia (280,000), followed by Australia (170,000) and Canada (150,000).
Morowali Regency is a regency of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 5,472 km2 and the districts now within the regency had a combined population of 102,228 at the 2010 Census; the regency population at the 2020 Census was 161,727; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 176,244. The administrative centre is at the town of Bungku. The Regency includes the far-flung Menui Islands, lying to the southwest of the rest of the province.
A nickel mine is a mine that produces nickel. Some mines produce nickel primarily, while some mines produce nickel as a side-product of some other metal that has a higher concentration in the ore.
The Harita Group is an Indonesian business conglomerate owned and controlled by the Lim family. The group's core businesses are in the natural resources sector, which operates throughout Indonesia. Today, the Harita Group has businesses in nickel mining, ferronickel smelters, bauxite mining, alumina refineries, palm oil plantations, shipping, timber, coal and property. After the 2014 government regulations to ban exports of raw minerals, Harita Group and its partners built a $400 million ferronickel smelter and Indonesia's first alumina refinery for $900 million, both of which have been completed and in full operation since 2016. In December 2019, Glencore International became a partner of Harita Group via its share sale and rights issue of Indonesian-listed Cita Mineral. In June 2021, Harita commissioned the first HPAL plant in Indonesia, which produces Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate, a raw material for electric vehicle batteries. The project had an estimated cost of $1 billion. The current CEO of Harita Group is Lim Gunawan Hariyanto.
Nickel mining in Western Australia has been an industry that has had many fluctuations of fortune in its history. Large fluctuations in the world nickel price have seen mines close and reopen on several occasions.
The Cawse mine is a mothballed laterite nickel mine near Ora Banda in Western Australia. Cawse has a remnant Proven Reserve of 3.757 million tonnes of ore grading 0.65% nickel for 24,400 tonnes of nickel, as of 31 December 2009.
The Solway Investment Group Limited, is a private international mining and metals group located in Switzerland. The Group conducts operations in North Macedonia, Ukraine, Indonesia and Guatemala.
Bauxite has been mined in Indonesia since the Dutch colonial era.
A growing population and abundant natural resources contribute to the wealth of the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, while terrain and under-developed infrastructure limits economic growth.
