Muhammad Umar

PT Weda Bay Nickel

PT Weda Bay Nickel (WBN) is a world-class nickel and cobalt mining and hydrometallurgical processing company being developed on the island of Halmahera, located in the North Maluku Province of the Republic of Indonesia. PT WBN is owned by Singapore based company, Strand Minerals PTE. LTD. (Strand) and the Indonesian state-owned mining Company PT (Persero) Aneka Tambang Tbk. (ANTAM). Strand itself is owned by ERAMET S.A. and Mitsubishi Corporation and PAMCO. PT Weda Bay Nickel (WBN) signed the 7th Generation Contract of Work (CoW) with the Government of the Republic of Indonesia in February 1998 for nickel and cobalt mining and processing within a contract area of 54,874 hectares in the Central Halmahera and East Halmahera Regencies of the North Maluku Province. Under the CoW, the Government gives WBN, as a foreign investment company, the right to conduct on its own account all stages of operations. The CoW is based on a production period of 30 years which could be extended to 50 years by an additional two 10 year periods. The Project of WBN represents the biggest single planned investment in a new mining and ore processing venture for 15 years. It also provides the opportunity of introducing an innovative hydrometallurgical process - developed by ERAMET - to be implemented according to sustainable development philosophy to provide added value to the natural resources of Indonesia as well as positive and long-term benefits to its people and to the Project's shareholders.