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Vale Indonesia says 2026 mining quota won't be enough to meet demand from new smelters

19th January 2026

By: Reuters

  

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JAKARTA - Nickel miner PT Vale Indonesia's mining production quota approved for this year will likely be insufficient to meet demand from the smelters that will come online later this year, the company's chief executive said on Monday.

Vale on Thursday said it had secured approval for its annual mining production quota, known locally as RKAB, and had resumed mining activities following a halt caused by approval delays.

In a hearing with members on parliament on Monday, CEO Bernardus Irmanto asked for support regarding the company's production quota.

"The quota granted for PT Vale, around 30% of what we requested, will most likely not be able to meet our commitments for the plants," he said, without disclosing the exact volume.

He said he hoped the company would be granted an additional ore production quota.

Vale and partners are currently constructing three high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plants to extract nickel materials used in electric vehicle batteries.

Its $4.5-billion HPAL plant in Pomalaa in Southeast Sulawesi is expected to start up in August, while the development of its Bahadopi plant in Central Sulawesi is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter this year, Bernardus said.

Another plant, in Sorowako, Southeast Sulawesi, is expected to start operations next year.

In 2025, Vale's nickel matte output was higher than planned, the chief executive said.

The company set an output target of 71 234 metric tons of nickel matte in 2025, and up to November had produced 66 848 tons, company data showed.

Edited by Reuters

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