PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Nickel Mines’ Indonesian subsidiary PT Angel Nickel Industry has been granted "material" corporate tax relief for its rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) project.

Nickel Mines on Thursday told shareholders that the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia had granted Angel Nickel a corporate income tax reduction of 100% for a ten-year period, starting from the first year of commercial production.

The company would also be granted a 50% reduction in corporate income tax for a further two years, following the initial ten-year period, and would be exempted from withholding and tax collection by third parties on sales proceeds that would normally be remitted to the Indonesian Revenue Department for a period of ten years, also starting from the first year of commercial production.

“We are again delighted to have been granted these material tax concessions by the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, with these concessions being recognition of the significant level of investment Nickel Mines and Shanghai Decent continue to make into establishing world-class, down-stream processing assets in Indonesia,” said Nickel Mines MD Justin Werner.

“These tax concessions also speak to the ongoing commitment from the Indonesian government to fostering and supporting the development of vertically-integrated downstream mineral processing facilities, which has already resulted in the value of iron and steel exports rising from less than $1.5-billion in 2013 to more than $12-billion as at the end of 2021,” said Werner.

“The tax relief Angel Nickel will enjoy over the next decade will further enhance the already exceptionally strong cashflows and profitability of our assets, translating into tangible benefits for the company’s ongoing operations, future growth prospects and potential distributions to its shareholders. With these concessions now confirmed we look forward to the upcoming commissioning of Angel’s RKEF lines, scheduled to commence later this quarter.”

The first of four Angel Nickel RKEF lines will be commissioned in the March quarter, with the other three RKEF lines to be commissioned progressively over the following 60 to 90 days, resulting in all four RKEF lines producing nickel pig iron by June 2022. The project will have a nameplate capacity of 36 000 t/y.