MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1978-79 
482 
 
INDECO in 1977 due to adverse conditions of world nickel market. Later in
1978, P.T. Aneka Tambang took over the Gebe nickel project and reportedly
invested over $2 million for the development of the nickel mine and associated
infrastructure. 
 In April 1979, the director of P.T. Aneka Tanibang announced that the firm
has exported the first trial shipments of 220,000 tons of unprocessed New
Caledonia-type nickel ore from Moluccan on Gebe Island. The firm was expected
to export about 800,000 tons of nickel ore annually to Japan beginning in
1979, gradually increasing to 1.4 to 1.5 million tons from Gebe Island after
a harbor-and-dock project is completed. A new Gebe smelter complex was reportedly
being developed by the firm and INDECO. The target production is expected
to be 23,000 to 45,000 tons per year of ferronickel. The Annular Vertical
Kiln process developed by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. was proposed by INDECO
for Gebe 
* ores.21 
 P.T. INCO, jointly owned by International Nickel Co. of Canada, Ltd~, the
Indonesian Government, and six Japanese partners, officially opened its Soroako
Phase I operation which includes a large mining and refining facility in
South Sulawesi at the end of March 1977. The $850 million Soroako operation
is the largest lateritic nickel mining project in the world. Upon completion
of Phase II, which involved two additional pyrometallurgical process lines
and the construction of a 165-megawatt hydroelectric facility, the total
annual capacity was projected to be about 45,000 tons of nickel contained
in a sulfide matte.~ Soroako operation has suffered various mechanical and
technical difficulties since it began its operation in late 1977;Most of
the difficulties have now been overcome, but the production capacity was
still not able to be fully utilized in 1979 (only about 8,600 tons of nickel
contained in matte was produced) resulting from the corrosion problem caused
by the acidity of the ores. It was determined that an additional $15 million
of capital expenditures was required to make process improvements involving
installation of better crushing facilities to handle the less acidic ores
and crush converter slag, and for modifications to the ore drying facilities.
The firm anticipates that upon completion of these process improvements,
the annual production capacity will be about 36,000 tons of nickel in a 75%
matte, instead of the 45,000 tons as originally projected. Production is
scheduled to be 
about 21,000 tons of nickel in matte for 1980 and about 29,500 tons for 1981,
to be exported to Japan.23 
 P.T. Pacific Nickel Indonesia's $1 billion nickel project was still in need
of financial backing. It was planned to construct a smelter capable of producing
50,000 tons of nickel metal plus 1,400 tons of cobalt metal per year using
the modified Sherritt-Gordon process on remote Gag Island off the western
coast of Irian. In light of prospective world market conditions for the coming
years, in 1979, the World Bank requested a new feasibility study which would
deter mine whether plans for a 3 1/2-year con struction work would be followed.2~
If this Gag Island project successfully materializes during the third 5-Year
Plan along with other nickel projects at Soroako and Gebe Indonesia may well
become one of the leading nickel producers in the world 
 Tin —Tin metal mmrng mdustry is one of the oldest and the most
important
industries in Indonesia s hard mineral sector Indonesia's tin reserves (measured)
are esti mated at 740,000 to 1 million tons25 located primarily in the tin
islands of Bangka, Belitung (Billiton), Kundur, Singkep, the islets of the
Riau-Lingga Group and nearby offshore area, and the Bangkinang area on the
mainland of Sumatra. 
 Indonesia's tin production and exports have increased steadily during 1978-79
as world market prices of tin continued to set record highs. Indonesia tin
production hit a new record in 1979 after P.T. Tambang Timah introduced its
newest and largest tin dredge, Bangka II in 1978. Indonesia's tin exports
were valued at $311 million in 1978, up 24% from 1977 at $251 million, and
showed another record of 21% increase in 1979 at $876 million.26 
 Indonesia is currently ranked the fourth largest tin producer in the world
after Malaysia, Thailand, and Bolivia, and is expected to be the second or
the third largest tin producer with its annual production passing the 30,000
ton level in 1980 or 1981.27 
 Indonesian tin mining is primarily carried out by the State-owned tin company,
P.T. Tambang Timah and three other jointventure companies: P.T. Koba Tin
(since 1971), P.T. Broken Hill Proprietary Indonesia (since 1971), and P.T.
Riau Tin Mining, Ritin (formerly, the Dutch N.Y. Billiton Exploratie Maatschappij
Indonesia). P.T. Tambang Timah (P.T. Timah), continues to be the single largest
producer, contributing