At the ferronickel smelter at the Pomalaa nickel facility in southeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia, repairs to the coolant system and roof of have been completed and the operation is expected to resume full production by Oct. 10. The project is owned by the mining company, Aneka Tambang’s (Antam), which, in turn, is owned by the Indonesian state.
In mid-July, a problem in the electric furnace shell caused an explosion. This damaged the furnace cover. An investigation revealed that damage to a nipple joint in electrode no. 1 allowed water from the cooling system to seep into the furnace. The water became trapped in the calcine (concentrate ready for smelting) and caused a minor explosion.
One worker suffered burns.
The smelter has been switched back on a week earlier than expected. Commissioning is expected to take 40 days to allow for heating of the furnace as the load gradually increases to normal levels. Total production from the smelter during commissioning is estimated at about 90 tons of export-quality contained nickel.
Antam estimates its lost production at about 616 tons of contained nickel during repairs. The company expects to lose another 470 tons during commissioning.
Lost revenues and damage to equipment are still being determined but are likely to be less than initially anticipated. The smelter hold is fully insured for property damage and business interruption.
During repair and commissioning, Antam will use a toll system to send nickel ore for processing to Pacific Metals in Japan.
Antam also plans to offset revenue shortfall by increasing exports of high-grade nickel ore from the Pomalla and Gee operations.
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