Vale’s $10 Billion Investment: Progress on Bahodopi, Pomalaa, and Sorowako Projects

JAKARTA, RAKYAT NEWS– The giant mining PT Vale Indonesia (INCO) has announced significant progress on its $10 billion (IDR 154 trillion) mining and smelting projects currently underway.

The company’s projects are located in three major areas on Sulawesi Island: Bahodopi, Pomalaa, and Sorowako.

In Bahodopi, Vale, along with Tisco and Shandong Xinhai, has established a joint venture named PT Bahodopi Nickel Smelting Indonesia (BNSI) to develop a $2.6 billion (IDR 40 trillion) ferronickel project.

Scheduled for completion in 2026, the project is expected to produce approximately 73,000 tons of nickel annually, enhancing Indonesia’s capacity to produce high-quality nickel for the electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem.

In Pomalaa, Vale is collaborating with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Ford on a High Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) project, valued at IDR 70 trillion. This project aims to produce up to 120,000 tons of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) per year and is also expected to be completed by 2026.

Vale’s President Director, Febriany Eddy, indicated that the Bahodopi project might finish ahead of schedule, potentially in Q3 2025, while the Pomalaa project is on track for completion in Q1 2026.

“Progress on both projects is very promising,” Febriany stated

The company is also working to obtain the environmental impact analysis (AMDAL) for the HPAL project in Pomalaa, which is anticipated in August-September 2024.

“Once approved, construction of the HPAL plant will take about 16 months,”

In addition to Bahodopi and Pomalaa, Vale is developing another HPAL project in Sorowako, valued at $2 billion (IDR 31 trillion), with a production capacity of 60,000 tons of MHP per year, targeted for completion in 2027.