Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Indonesian state-controlled miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) has acquired a 30% stake worth $102 million in a smelter owned by a subsidiary of Chinese stainless steel giant Tsingshan Holding Group, the company said in an exchange filing.
Antam – through its subsidiary nickel miner PT Gag Nikel – bought shares in PT Jiu Long Metal Industry, a metal company established in 2020 and controlled by Eternal Tsingshan Group Ltd, the Indonesian company said late on Monday.
The smelter is located in Weda Bay industrial park, according to data from the North Maluku government.
Antam’s transaction chimed with the government’s requirements for miners to process their ore domestically, the exchange filing showed.
In a series of transactions related to the stake deal, PT Gag Nikel will also supply ore to a unit of Tsingshan and extend loan to Jiu Long, the filing said.
Eternal Tsingshan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(By Fransiska Nangoy, Bernadette Christina and Ananda Teresia; Editing by Martin Petty and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
Comments