PT Amman Mineral Internasional Tbk (AMMN) through its subsidiary, PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (AMNT), is expected to start copper cathode production in the fourth quarter of 2024 is expected to start copper cathode production in the fourth quarter of 2024.The company is currently completing the commissioning process of the copper smelter in West Sumbawa Regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).As of May 31, 2024, the progress of the project, which is a National Strategic Project (PSN), has reached 95.5 percent.AMNT President Director Rachmat Makkasau in an official statement in Jakarta, Saturday, explained that the smelter is designed to have an installed input capacity of 900 thousand tons of concentrate per year (ktpa).“In addition, the smelter will produce final products in the form of 222 thousand tons of copper cathode per year (tpa), as well as sulfuric acid, gold bars, silver bars, and selenium,” Rachmat said.He continued, currently the physical construction and mechanical completion have been completed, and the progress of the smelter leaves another 5 percent, which is the commissioning stage that is in process.“The commissioning process, which began in early June 2024, is scheduled to last for five months,” Rachmat said.During this period, various stages of equipment and infrastructure testing will be carried out to ensure all systems function optimally before starting commercial production.“One of the stages in the commissioning process is the entry of copper concentrate as a smelter feed. Meanwhile, the first copper cathode production from the smelter is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024,” Rachmat said.By 2023, AMNT's contribution to the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of West Sumbawa Regency will be 82 percent.In constructing the smelter, AMNT is working with international contractors, including China Non-ferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd (NFC) and PT Pengembangan Industri Logam (PT PIL).“We expect this project to be one of the fastest double-flash smelting facilities built outside China,” Rachmat said.The company obtained certification for the National Vital Object Security Management System (SMP Obvitnas) from the National Police Headquarters, with a Gold category and a compliance value of 90.44 percent. based on Presidential Decree No. 63 of 2004 and Indonesian National Police Regulation No. 7 of 2019, which regulates the security of national vital objects.Rachmat explained that the certification confirms the company's commitment to implementing best practices in security management.“This success is also a strategic step in eliminating potential threats and disturbances, and systematically improving operational security,” Rachmat said.In addition, the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding & Technical Work Guidelines for National Security Services with the NTB Police to strengthen security and supervision during the smelter construction process. This step is in line with the company's efforts to strengthen its recently certified security management system.

PT Merdeka Battery Materials Tbk (MBMA) is actively conducting exploration activities to increase the company's nickel resource reserves. Most recently, this subsidiary of PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk (MDKA) spent USD 1.2 million or equivalent to IDR 19 billion for exploration at the Sulawesi Cahaya Mineral (SCM) nickel mine, Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi, in the second quarter of 2024.“MBMA has an active exploration program focused on delineating additional nickel resources at the SCM mine. During the second quarter of 2024, MBMA has completed exploration activities with a total estimated cost incurred for the SCM mine of IDR 19 billion,” MBMA management wrote in an official statement quoted on Sunday (14/7/2024).MBMA's management said the costs were incurred for drilling to determine the mine life resource and related test work. “All work was completed by PT Sulawesi Cahaya Mineral, with testing methods of diamond drilling, geological mapping, sampling, and geophysical surveys (ground penetration radar/GPR),” said MBMA management.MBMA management revealed that the areas selected for the exploration drilling program are areas close to the current mine pit, and in line with future mining plans. From the exploration during the second quarter of 2024, 353 drill holes were completed with a total depth of 8,639 meters.“Other activities include a 45.3 km GPR survey in the PB area, geological mapping, and 270 ha of sampling at BR2&3 South, and DS East,” MBMA management wrote.The diamond drilling (DD) program will continue using 16 drill rigs for resource/infill and exploration drilling. GPR surveys and geological mapping will continue for further exploration drilling targets.The SCM Mine is a global-scale, high-quality and low-cost mining operation located in a 21,100 hectare concession area. Previously owned by Rio Tinto, the SCM Mine contains approximately 13.8 million tons of nickel (1.22% Ni grade) and 1.0 million tons of cobalt (0.08% Co grade) with a multi-decade mine life.The SCM Mine's 77% limonite ore is used to produce Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP), which can be converted into nickel sulfate for the production of electric vehicle (EV) battery feedstock. The saprolite ore produced will be sent to MBMA's RKEF smelter in Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) for further processing into Nickel Pig Iron (NPI).

Indonesia plans to review its bauxite export ban policy following a request from lawmakers to reopen shipments of the raw material for aluminum, news site Bisnis.com reported, citing a mining ministry spokesperson.Indonesia banned exports of bauxite in mid 2023 to encourage domestic processing of the minerals, a move that a miners group said could harm them due to the limited processing capacity available.“There will be a review and inter-ministerial coordination,” Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry spokesperson Agus Cahyono Adi told Bisnis.com.The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.Lawmakers during a meeting with the mining ministry earlier this week had asked the government to reassess the ban and reopen shipments to help revive the economies of areas that rely on bauxite mining activities.

Far East Gold (ASX:FEG) has entered into an agreement with PT Iriana Mutiara Idenburg to acquire the 95,280 hectare Idenburg Gold Project in the Indonesian province Papua.The Idenburg Project has over USD 25 million in historical exploration and has attracted some of the world’s “largest” gold producers to explore the property including Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD), Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM), and Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM). Under the binding term sheet, Far East Gold, which has a market capitalisation of USD 32.19 million, made an initial payment of USD 150,000 and has a three month exclusivity period to complete a binding conditional share purchase agreement (CSPA). The exclusivity period may be extended up to three times by mutual agreement, and must pay USD 50,000 for each 30-day period. Upon securing a 51% interest in the project, Far East will pay a further USD 250,000 once the CSPA has been signed. They will then issue at least 2.5 million shares based on a issue price of at least USD 0.10 per share, spend USD 5 million within 24 months of signing the CSPA, and issue $6.5 million worth of shares. Far East Gold will also complete a Feasibility Study in Indonesia to allow the contract of work to move from an exploration phase to a 30-year mining operation phase, upon moving to holding an 80% interest in the project. Meanwhile, to move to 100% interest, the vendors may elect to have the remaining 20% economic interest either carried on terms to be agreed in the CSPA or converted to a 2% net smelter royalty. Managing Director Shane Menere says the Idenburg Project is being acquired from the same local partner who owns the Woyla contract of work that Far East Gold is exploring. “Given the strong interest shown in the Idenburg Project by numerous parties, the fact that Far East Gold has been given the opportunity to further develop the project is an endorsement of the work that has been done to date by the highly experienced Far East Gold team, including being the first company in the Woyla contract of work’s history to successfully drill the project,” he says. “It is rare to find a project of such calibre with a substantial historical database of work completed by many of the world’s major gold miners.“We are very excited based on the extensive historical database of exploration work and many high-grade drill intercepts that demonstrate the potential for Idenburg to host a multi-million ounce company maker”  Far East Gold notes of the 14 prospect areas identified, only five prospects have been drill tested focused within three main prospects. The mineralised zones intersected at each of the three prospects remain open along strike and to depth.The company also announces the resignation of both Chairman Paul Walker and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Director on the Board Marc Denovan, effective immediately.Walker, who has been a founder and Chairman of Far East Gold since the company’s inception, will be focusing on his consultancy business. He will remain on the board as a non-executive director.Far East Gold co-founder Justin Werner has been appointed as non-executive Chairman of the company, effective immediately. Werner has been involved in the Indonesian mining industry for more than 20 years and has knowledge in resource discovery and mine development.Denovan, who is leaving to focus on his family business, is replaced as CFO by Kyla Garic, effective immediately.Far East Gold is a copper and gold-focused explorer with six advanced projects in Australia and Indonesia. 

PT Central Omega Resources Tbk (DKFT) announced that there had been a sale of shares by PT Mocrolink Nickel Development (MND) in two subsidiaries, namely PT Macrolink Omega Adiperkasa (MOA) and COR Industri Indonesia (CORII). This sale will take place on July 1, 2024.DKFT Director, Feni Silviani Budiman, stated in his written statement that MND had sold 4,500,000 MOA shares, which is equivalent to 60%, to DKFT with a transaction value of IDR 1.Apart from that, MND also sold 268,892 CORII shares, equivalent to 40%, to MOA with a transaction value of IDR 1.With this transaction, DKFT now owns 7,499,900 MOA shares, equivalent to 99.99%, while Andi Jaya owns 100 shares, equivalent to 0.001%.On the other hand, DKFT also owns 391,776 CORII shares, equivalent to 59.30%, while MOA now owns 268,668 CORII shares, equivalent to 40.70%.Feni added that with this transaction, DKFT is now the controlling shareholder in MOA and remains the controlling shareholder in CORII. This shows DKFT's strategic steps in strengthening its position in the nickel industry.CORII is a subsidiary of the Company which operates in the field of nickel ore processing (smelter). Since November 2021 until now, CORII is not operating due to the maintenance program.There are similarities in the members of the Board of Commissioners and Directors between CORII and MOA. Meanwhile, MIM is a party that is not affiliated with the Company. "However, this affiliate transaction is not a conflict of interest transaction as intended in POJK 42/2020," wrote management.

PT Harum Energy Tbk's ambition to develop the nickel business seems to be no joke. HRUM, through its subsidiary, namely Tanito Harum Nickel (THN), disbursed a loan of up to USD 580 million or the equivalent of Rp. 9.49 trillion to PT Blue Sparking Energy (BSE). Both parties have signed a loan agreement on June 26, 2024.Withdrawals on loans can be made more than once. This loan bears interest on the principal amount outstanding at a Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) of 2.7% per year.This is an affiliate loan. For your information, Blue Sparking Energy is a subsidiary of HRUM. The reason is, HRUM through Tanito Harum Nickel owns 51% of Blue Sparking Energy shares. Meanwhile, HRUM controls 99% of the shares in Tanito Harum Nickel.In an information disclosure on the Indonesian Stock Exchange, HRUM Management explained that this loan transaction was a form of continuation of the nickel mining and processing business. Blue Sparking Energy is currently in the development and construction stage of a nickel processing project, namely high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) located in Central Halmahera.This project is designed to produce nickel-cobalt hydroxide intermediate product, namely MHP or mixed hydroxide precipitate with an installed capacity of around 67,000 tons (plus or minus 10%) of nickel equivalent and around 7,500 tons (plus or minus 10%) of cobalt."The loan agreement is to finance the development and construction of Blue Sparking Energy's project, working capital, and for general purposes and company investment," explained HRUM management.Depressed performanceAs of quarter I-2024, HRUM posted revenue of USD 265.97 million or a decrease of 9.68% from revenue in quarter I-2023 which reached USD 294.50 million. There are several factors that influence HRUM's performance.First, coal sales volume in the first quarter of 2024 fell 9.6% quarterly and 9.1% annually, aka year on year (yoy) to 1.7 million tons.Second, the average selling price (ASP) of HRUM coal fell 37.9% yoy to USD 99.9 per ton compared to the ASP of coal in the same period last year which reached USD 160.9 per ton.From the bottom line, HRUM's net profit shrank 99.04% to only USD 987,319 from previously reaching UD 103.02 million in the same period last year. One of the causes of this decline in net profit is the completion of the nickel company acquisition process.In January 2024, HRUM's subsidiary, namely PT Harum Nickel Industry (HNI), acquired an additional 60.7% stake in WEstrong Metal Industry (WMI) with an acquisition cost of USD  215 million. This additional acquisition resulted in an increase in share ownership in WMI from only 20.0% to 80.7%.With the completion of the transaction, there is an adjustment to the fair value of the asset, where WMI's liabilities identified before the transaction date are remeasured and reflected as an accounting adjustment. The negative adjustment resulting from this remeasurement amounted to USD  30.7 million which will be charged in the first quarter of 2024. This combination of factors is what makes HRUM's net profit depressed.

PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk (MDKA) is aiming to improve operational performance in 2024 in line with the trend of increasing commodity prices.General Manager Communications of PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk Tom Malik said that the Tujuh Bukit Gold Mine Project targets production in the range of 100,000 ounces to 120,000 ounces. Meanwhile, Wetar Copper Mine production is targeted at 14,000 tons to 16,000 tons."The increase in prices of metal commodities such as copper, gold and nickel due to various global events will certainly have a positive influence on the performance of the Merdeka Group. As a mining company, we are price takers because the price of metal commodities depends on global supply-demand," said Tom to Kontan, Wednesday ( 3/7).Tom explained that the price of gold is currently at USD 2,300 per troy ounce and is predicted to increase this year. Meanwhile, the price of copper, which is now USD 9,400 per ton, is also predicted to increase.Optimism for growth in operational performance, especially in the copper sector, is also supported by a new source of income, namely pyrite ore which is sent to the AIM (Acid Iron Metal) Project belonging to PT Merdeka Tsingsan Indonesia, which is a subsidiary of PT Merdeka Battery Materials Tbk (MBMA) in Morowali."The Merdeka Group continuously optimizes mining and efficiency of production costs to increase margins," explained Tom.Meanwhile, development of the Pani Gold Project is said to be running smoothly with a production target at the end of 2025. So far, MDKA has invested more than USD 114 million since 2022. MDKA is targeting additional investment of USD 200 million for phase 1 production levels.Tom continued, the development of the Tujuh Bukit Copper Project, which is an underground mine under the Tujuh Bukit Gold Mine, is also running smoothly.The total investment that MDKA has disbursed has reached USD 185 million since the start of development in 2018."We are currently carrying out various studies and exploration to determine the mineral content and optimize the project value with a production target at the end of 2026," continued Tom.Throughout the first quarter of 2024, MDKA posted revenue of USD 541.05 million or grew 152.57% year on year (yoy) compared to the first quarter of 2023 which amounted to USD 214.21 million.Meanwhile, in terms of the bottom line, MDKA recorded a net loss of USD 15.22 million in the first quarter of 2024. Previously, in the first quarter of 2023 MDKA was able to record a net profit of USD 3.11 million.

PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) received the Gold category award at the 2024 Bisnis Indonesia Social Responsibility Awards (BISRA) in Jakarta on Thursday, June 27, 2024.This award was granted in recognition of PTBA’s Eco Agrotomation Program, a social innovation that encourages environmentally friendly, automation-based plant cultivation to support reforestation and reclamation programs.Eco Agrotomation program was also designed to meet the local community’s vegetable and fruit needs, thereby supporting the concept of sustainable food in Muara Enim Regency."We are both proud and grateful for this award. Of course, this appreciation further motivates us to continue contributing to environmental conservation and community empowerment, especially around the operational area," said Niko Chandra, PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) Corporate Secretary.PTBA's Eco Agrotomation Program empowers farmers in Tanjung Karangan and Keban Agung to establish nurseries on unproductive land. PTBA works with farmers to provide planting media and seeds, as well as to cultivate plants. PTBA also provides regular training and assistance to the farmers.Plant cultivation is made simpler by the automation system. Farmers can now monitor and manage their crops more easily by accessing a monitoring dashboard that is linked to a smartphone. Standard measurements are used to automatically water and fertilize.The energy source for this automation system is based on renewable energy, Solar Power Plants, thus it reduces emissions from the plant cultivation process and also lowers daily operational costs.The plant seeds produced from this activity are not only used by PTBA for reclamation activities, but also by a number of other companies who have participated as buyers."PTBA always implements the principle of sustainability in our business activities. This commitment is an important aspect in Bukit Asam's efforts to provide continuous energy to the country, which aligns with our vision to become a world-class energy company that cares about the environment," said Niko.The 2024 BISRA Award is dedicated to companies in Indonesia who have made a significant contribution and commitment to improving the quality of human life and the environment through their Social & Environmental Responsibility (CSR) programs.The 2024 BISRA Award, themed "Paving the Way to Sustainable Business: Innovation in CSR", aims to provide education about effective, broad and sustainable CSR management.

PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk (BRMS) is targeting its third gold factory in Palu to start operating in September this year. With the operation of the factory, BRMS is confident that they will achieve their production targets and improve their performance by the end of the year.Director & Chief Investor Relations Officer of PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk Herwin Hidayat stated that his party hopes that the third gold factory in Palu can also complete its construction period and start operating in September - October this year.Herwin revealed that the performance of gold mines in the first quarter of 2024, production from gold mines in Palu had reached 9,623 oz gold (299 kg gold). The company's target for the full year 2024 is to achieve production of 35,000 oz of gold."We are quite confident that this target can be achieved," he told Kontan, Friday (5/7).According to Herwin, looking at the company's performance in the first semester of 2024. Currently production figures in the first semester of 2024 are still being finalized, but the party is quite confident that there will be an increase in production in the second quarter of 2024 because the gold content processed is higher than the gold content processed in the first quarter of 2024. The production figure in the first quarter of 2024 is 9,623 oz of gold."We are quite confident that BRMS will achieve its production target in full year 2024 of 35,000 oz, supported by a second gold factory which has been operating at full capacity since the second quarter of this year," he concluded.

BUMN Holding the Mining Industry, PT Mineral Industri Indonesia (Persero) (MIND ID) announced the completion of the transaction of 14 percent of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk's divestment shares from Vale Canada Limited (VCL) and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (SMM).On June 28 2024, MIND ID has completed the acquisition of new shares as an exercise of all Pre-emptive Rights (HMETD) obtained by MIND ID in Capital Increase by Providing PT Vale's HMETD I and the purchase by MIND ID of some of the old shares belonging to VCL , SMM, and Vale Japan Limited at PT Vale through the negotiation market on the Indonesian Stock Exchange.With this settlement, MIND ID officially becomes the largest shareholder in PT Vale with its share portion increasing from 20.0% to around 34.0%.Meanwhile, VCL ownership reduced from 44.4% to around 33.9%, and SMM ownership reduced from 15.0% to around 11.5%.This share divestment is part of the obligation to extend the operating permit for 10 years obtained by PT Vale through the issuance of a Special Mining Business Permit (IUPK) until 28 December 2035.PT Vale received the IUPK issuance on May 3 2024 as legal certainty for the company to continue operating in its concession area.MIND ID Corporate Secretary, Heri Yusuf appreciates the support from the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Investment/Investment Coordinating Board, the Financial Services Authority, as well as Ministries and Institutions others in this divestment process.He emphasized that MIND ID will collaborate with VCL and other PT Vale stakeholders in developing PT Vale."We will optimize the downstream process for PT Vale's mining products so that it can support domestic industry as well as export needs to support the downstream program," said Heri.The acquisition of PT Vale shares is a strategic step for MIND ID so that Indonesia can take a stronger position in securing the supply of nickel-based downstream industry raw materials.Moreover, nickel is a strategic and important mineral resource for the world, where nickel has become the main raw material for batteries for electric vehicles and electricity storage infrastructure. "This corporate action is momentum in strengthening Indonesia's position in the battery and electric vehicle industry in the future," concluded Heri.