Indonesia¡äs Mempawah Alumina Plant Officially Put into Operation
2024-9-26
On September 24, 2024, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced the official launch of the MemPawah alumina plant in the ManPawah region of West Kalimantan province. This alumina plant, jointly operated by state-owned mining company Aneka Tambang (Antam) and state-owned aluminum producer Inalum, marks an important step for Indonesia in advancing its domestic mineral processing industry chain.
The alumina plant is designed to reach an annual production capacity of 1 million tons of alumina, which can absorb 3.3 million tons of bauxite as feedstock input, greatly promoting the development and utilization of local bauxite resources. As a resource rich country, Indonesia has been committed to developing its domestic mineral processing industry and reducing its dependence on raw ore exports in recent years. Since a ban on unprocessed nickel exports was imposed in early 2020, Indonesia has successfully attracted a large number of nickel processing plant investments and hopes to replicate this successful model in the aluminum industry.
Last year, Indonesia further implemented a ban on bauxite exports, aiming to increase industrial added value through domestic processing. President Joko Widodo stated that Indonesia¡äs domestic demand for aluminum is about 1.2 million tons, of which 56% relies on imports, while Indonesia has abundant bauxite resources. He emphasized that the Manpawa alumina plant will significantly reduce the import of aluminum products, saving about 50 trillion Indonesian rupiah in foreign exchange expenses annually.
It is reported that the Manpawa alumina plant is a joint venture project between PT Indonesia Asahian Aluminum (Inalum) and PT Aneka Tambang Tbk. (Antam), which will directly obtain bauxite raw materials from the Antam mining area for processing. The product will then be transported through ports in West Kalimantan to Kuala Tanjung Port in North Sumatra, and ultimately converted into aluminum products at Inalum¡äs electrolytic aluminum plant, achieving upstream and downstream integration of the aluminum industry chain.
The alumina plant is designed to reach an annual production capacity of 1 million tons of alumina, which can absorb 3.3 million tons of bauxite as feedstock input, greatly promoting the development and utilization of local bauxite resources. As a resource rich country, Indonesia has been committed to developing its domestic mineral processing industry and reducing its dependence on raw ore exports in recent years. Since a ban on unprocessed nickel exports was imposed in early 2020, Indonesia has successfully attracted a large number of nickel processing plant investments and hopes to replicate this successful model in the aluminum industry.
Last year, Indonesia further implemented a ban on bauxite exports, aiming to increase industrial added value through domestic processing. President Joko Widodo stated that Indonesia¡äs domestic demand for aluminum is about 1.2 million tons, of which 56% relies on imports, while Indonesia has abundant bauxite resources. He emphasized that the Manpawa alumina plant will significantly reduce the import of aluminum products, saving about 50 trillion Indonesian rupiah in foreign exchange expenses annually.
It is reported that the Manpawa alumina plant is a joint venture project between PT Indonesia Asahian Aluminum (Inalum) and PT Aneka Tambang Tbk. (Antam), which will directly obtain bauxite raw materials from the Antam mining area for processing. The product will then be transported through ports in West Kalimantan to Kuala Tanjung Port in North Sumatra, and ultimately converted into aluminum products at Inalum¡äs electrolytic aluminum plant, achieving upstream and downstream integration of the aluminum industry chain.