Jakarta, October 28, 2013 - PT ANTAM (Persero) Tbk (ASX - ATM; IDX - ANTM; ANTAM) is pleased to announce Indonesia's first Chemical Grade Alumina (CGA) plant, located in Tayan, West Kalimantan, has commenced the commissioning phase. The commissioning, which is 3 months ahead of the contractual schedule, starts at the CGA plant's Bayer Plant facility. The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jero Wacik, Minister of State-owned Enterprises, Dahlan Iskan and ANTAM's President Director, Tato Miraza, officially commenced the commissioning of the plant during a ceremony held today. Local government officials and local community members were also present at the ceremony, signalling strong support of the project. The plant's commercial operation is expected to commence in the second semester of 2014.
ANTAM's President Director, Tato Miraza, said,
"The commissioning of the Tayan CGA plant reflects ANTAM's commitment to deliver added value projects to our stakeholders. The commencement of the plant's commissioning on October 28th which coincides with the Youth Pledge Day also signifies the awakening and independence of the Indonesia mining and mineral processing industry in moving toward downstream, added value industries."
Construction of the Tayan CGA plant began since April 11, 2011 and is intended to process ANTAM's bauxite reserves to produce up to 300,000 tonnes of CGA per annum.
The Tayan CGA plant is developed by PT Indonesia Chemical Alumina, a jointly controlled entity between ANTAM and Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) of Japan. ANTAM owns 80% shares of PT ICA and SDK holds the remaining 20%. The project is financed by the two parent companies' equity investments in PT ICA, loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Mizuho Bank Ltd., as well as Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. Ltd.
The CGA products will be exported as well as sold to the Indonesian domestic market. While Smelter Grade Alumina (SGA) is widely used for the smelting of aluminum metal, chemical grade alumina produced by PT ICA will be widely applied in the production of functional materials and electronic materials such as refractories, abrasives, building materials, IC packaging, and materials for LCD glass.
In ensuring a safe and stable operation, since 2012 PT ICA has sent more than 50 personnel for training to Showa Denko K.K.'s CGA plant in Yokohama, Japan. Trainings were also conducted in Germany and China for on the job training and knowledge transfer.
The Tayan CGA plant is expected to employ 500 people, excluding opportunities created from multiplier effects both directly and indirectly to the surrounding communities inline with the operations of the Tayan CGA plant.
