Indonesia grants Vale a mine permit extension to 2035

Indonesia has granted Vale’s (NYSE: VALE) local unit a special mining permit extension as part of a wider deal that will see state-owned holding, MIND ID, acquire an additional 14% in PT Vale from both Vale Canada and Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining.

The Brazilian company agreed in November to sell 14% of its stake in the Indonesian unit to MIND ID, which had bought in 2020 a 20% interest in it as a result of Jakarta’s resource nationalism strategy. This policy has forced foreign mining and energy companies to reduce their ownership in local subsidiaries in Indonesia in order to extend their mining or work permits.

MIND ID’s additional interest will make the Indonesian government PT Vale’s largest shareholder with 34% ownership.

The permit extension until Dec. 28, 2035 ends months of uncertainty surrounding Vale’s operations in Indonesia. Among other conditions, it requires from Vale to finish ongoing construction at two nickel processing facilities.

Vale and its partners are investing nearly $10 billion in the development of nickel mines and processing facilities in Indonesia over the next decade. This includes the construction of two specialized plants that will produce materials essential for the batteries used in electric vehicles.

Vale’s operations in Indonesia include an HPAL facility at the Pomalaa project it’s developing with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, in Southeast Sulawesi; the Morowali IGP low-carbon nickel mining and processing plant in Central Sulawesi; and the Sorowako Block nickel processing plant with Huayou, in South Sulawesi.