This follows earlier news of BHP’s furnace rebuild at Kalgoorlie.
The figure is a government estimate which was disclosed by Muhammad Lutfi of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board on Sunday. Neither BHP nor Antam have commented on this.
Aneka Tambang’s parent company Antam had earlier said the companies would sign an agreement to build a smelter on 17 June 2008, with ore sourced from Halmahera in the Molucca Sea and from Gag Island off Papua.
Nickel prices have more than doubled since 2003, and mining companies are ramping up their mining and production.