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Are you looking to get ahead of market challenges? But find yourself struggling to keep up with the digital age? Seriously helping the importance of the future of mining, Mitrais has recently launched the MineScape version 6 in a seminar on 20^th June 2019 in Novotel, Balikpapan.

Market dynamics are very much subjected the coal and mineral prices to constant fluctuations. With a high number of factors dictating these conditions, it is next to impossible to control the market. The next best thing to do then is to gear up for challenging market conditions through more effective and efficient mining practices using technology and technology has completely changed the way organisations conduct their daily activities. Mitrais has responded to this challenge to increase versatility to fast align mining production to market requirements through the launching of MineScape 6.

MineScape 6 aims to enhance users experience by improving product performances and visualisations whilst expanding big data capabilities and revamping user interface. The introduction of a more user friendly and intuitive feature, it’s possible to facilitate productivity and streamline business processes.

Upon the opening of the seminar one of our own VP Software Products, She Kun, who also provided an overview of Mitrais and the array of mining product offerings, MineScape, Ellipse, MineMarket, CClas, LinkOne and Spry Scheduler. Was confident in saying “I am very impressed with using the experience accumulated through the years, we help our clients manage their mining operations to achieve effectiveness and efficiency and will continue to do so with the ever-changing updated technology we can create here at Mitrais.”

One of the seminar highlights was the introduction of new features and functionalities of MineScape 6 by Mitrais consultants, Putu Tanty Astari and Deny Verantika.

There was also a sharing session from our client on how better scheduling has resulted in faster calculations and improved accuracy and productivity within the industry.

The seminar closed with pleasant surprises for grand prize winners, with the awarding of door prizes by our Senior Manager Mining Solutions Product Sales and Services, Ida Farida, to participants from PT Arutmin, Mr Iyus Sumarsono, and others from Bayan, Bukit Makmur and several others.

Source : Mitrais Release

A surge in the price of nickel has confounded commodities analysts and prompted warnings that listed nickel producers could be vulnerable to a correction in the base metal price.

“Nickel has rallied more than $2500 per tonne (plus 23 per cent) in two weeks, with little apparent change in fundamentals,” Citi analysts said.

One of the reasons floated as contributing to the sharp rise is an export ban from Indonesia, which accounts for a quarter of global supply, but analysts discounted its relevance.

“This isn’t new news, hence why it is [unclear] that we’ve seen this price reaction, and that’s what’s got all of us scratching our heads,” Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar said.

“It’s overbought, but the trend is clearly up,” said Gianclaudio Torlizzi, partner at consultancy T-Commodity in Milan.

Citi analysts took a similar stance. “We disagree with some news reports that imply the recent move was driven by headlines regarding the 2022 Indonesian ore ban. This is not ‘new’ news and has actually been our base case for a while.”

Another possible explanation is falling stockpiles at the London Metal Exchange – a centre of the global commodity trade – which would indicate a tightening in the market.

“It certainly seems like it’s gone on a tear  and really the only driver that makes sense right now is falling LME stockpiles,” Mr Dhar said.

However, that too is old news, according to Mr Dhar.

“It’s not like LME stockpiles have just fallen in July. They’ve been heading down for a while, so why would you see an acceleration in price like [there has been] just now?”

And with the lack of rational support for the nickel price rise seen in July, prices are expected to pull back in the short term.

“In terms of how sustainable is it, we’re very bullish over the long run but in terms of rise since the beginning of July, it’s come out of nowhere,” Mr Dhar added.

Long-term fundamentals

The primary driver for nickel demand is stainless steel production, which uses two-thirds of supply of the base metal. That goes toward stainless steel goods such as kitchens, fridges and washing machines.

But the metal is also an ingredient in batteries. And while that use only accounts for about 3 per cent of nickel today, the growth in energy storage, particularly that from electric vehicles, is expected to drive new demand.

“Longer term I think the demand is pretty strong,” resources economist David Thurtell said.

Mr Thurtell, a former London Metal Exchange analyst, is now editor of the Resources and Energy Quarterly published by the Chief Economist and Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

The June Resources and Energy Quarterly notes that there is potential for nickel consumption to boom, as electric vehicle battery manufacturing picks up and technology advances.

Mr Thurtell said that while electric vehicles would add to demand in the future, it is the strength of consumer durables markets that is a primary driver of the nickel demand.

Australian producers

Australia accounts for about 10 per cent of nickel mining, making it the sixth largest producer globally. And while it is small when compared to iron ore, the industry contributes more than $3 billion to the  economy.

Among the Australian producers is Nickel Mines, which listed in August last year. The sharp rise in nickel has pushed shares in the $666 million company up 34.94 per cent over the last month, closing at 56¢ on Monday.

The company holds an 80 per cent interest in the Hengjaya nickel mine in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, which  has completed a ramp up this year to reach annual run rate of 16.5 million tonnes.

The share prices of other miners with exposure to nickel have also recorded a strong month. The $3.2 billion Independence Group has seen its shares increase by 12.42 per cent for the month, finishing trade on Monday at $5.43, Mincor resource added 10.35 per cent to close at 48¢ and Regis Resources gained 29.45 per cent to $6.55.

Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/commodities/short-term-risks-in-rationale-free-nickel-price-surge-20190722-p529jp

Years of losses at Krakatau force radical restructuring.

Krakatau Steel, Indonesia’s largest steelmaker, plans to reduce its core workforce by roughly 30% in line with Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s modernization push.

Krakatau reported a net loss of $77.2 million for 2018 on revenue of $1.7 billion. The listed company, which is 80%-owned by the state, also reported $2.4 billion in liabilities as of March 31, largely in loans.

The company has suffered losses for seven years and cannot wait any longer to restructure, President Director Silmy Karim said recently.

Karim, who turned another state-owned company around, was installed in his current post by the government last September. The 44-year old’s plan involves reducing the parent company’s head count to 4,500 employees from 6,300. A portion of those targeted will be transferred to subsidiaries.

This move represents an unusual step, since state-owned Indonesian companies have historically been tasked with creating jobs. But Krakatau is a central strategic piece in Widodo’s goal of modernizing the industrial base. The excess staffing has contributed to inefficiencies, and overly ambitious investments have further undermined profitability.

Krakatau will sell off noncore assets in such areas as real estate, hotels and the medical field. An engineering affiliate will be spun off into an independent entity. The asset sales are expected to generate a roughly $1 billion windfall.

Once Krakatau regains profitability, the plan is to place it under Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, a state-owned holding company for mining businesses.

Krakatau teamed with South Korean peer Posco in 2013 to jointly fire up Southeast Asia’s first blast furnace. In 2017, the Indonesian steelmaker joined Japan’s Nippon Steel and started producing automotive steel sheet with high added value, with the base material imported from Japan and processed in Indonesia.

Although Krakatau is the junior partner in both joint ventures, the company aims to gain access to advanced manufacturing technology. Krakatau, which had employed electric furnaces to make steel, launched an independent project in 2012 to build a blast furnace with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons.

Krakatau sank several hundred million dollars into the endeavor and originally sought to initiate operations in 2015, but the project was plagued by massive delays. The company also spent hundreds of millions on its second hot-rolled coil facility.

A major reason Krakatau keeps investing despite swimming in red ink is because the company must prioritize the wishes of the government. As part of an industrialization push, the state set a production goal of 10 million tons of steel products. Krakatau had to expand capacity to meet this demand.

Indonesia’s other 114 state-run enterprises are in a similar boat. Their combined net profit inched up only 1% in 2018, even as private-sector domestic conglomerate Astra International’s bottom line grew 15%.

Domestic demand for steel is projected to climb. Jokowi, as the president is known, has embarked on a large infrastructure program that includes high-speed-rail and port projects. Annual auto production in Indonesia has surpassed 1 million units.

But the recent influx of cheap steel products from China and elsewhere has put Krakatau in a precarious position. The ratio of Indonesian steel imports to steel consumption had grown to 55% in 2018 from 46% in 2009.

Krakatau plans to fight back against the imports with its independently built blast furnace. The company will start using the facility as soon as this year and cut costs on production.

Source: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Top-Indonesian-steelmaker-to-downsize-staff-by-30

Thirty-four coal mining companies have submitted their work program and budget revisions (RKABs) to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry to apply for process production quota increases, a ministry official said on Monday night.

The ministry’s coal supervisory and business director, Muhammad Hendrasto, said on Monday that the ministry would accept work programs and budget revisions from coal miners until the end of July.

“So far 34 companies have submitted revisions. We will wait until the end of July,” Hendrasto said as quoted by kontan.co.id on Monday.

Hendrasto said the ministry would evaluate only the revisions from companies that had obtained mining licenses from the central government, while provincial governments would evaluate the revised work programs and budgets of companies for which they had issued licenses.

The ministry will decide on the size of production quotas for each province, the official said, adding that several requirements had been set as references to assess the RKAB.

He stressed that not all RKABs would be approved as the government would also consider market conditions.

“One of the requirements is reports on their domestic market obligations and their working performance until the second quarter. If they didn’t report it then we will not approve their RKAB,” he said. (dpk/bbn)

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/23/34-coal-miners-seek-additional-quotas.html

A recent report from one of Indonesia’s oldest news agencies has stated that American electric car maker Tesla is looking to build a lithium battery raw material factory in the Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) area, located in the Central Sulawesi province, Indonesia.

The update comes amidst the recent comments of Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who named Tesla as one of the companies that are reportedly looking to build battery facilities in the region. Speaking at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, Pandjaitan mentioned that Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and LG would also be operating their own facilities in the Morowali area.

Provided that the facility does break ground, Tesla’s lithium battery raw material factory in Indonesia will reportedly be aiming for completion in around three years.

While Tesla is yet to announce or confirm the reports from the Indonesian media outlet, the country’s government is already preparing to welcome the arrival of the massive battery companies, including the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker. Pandjaitan, for his part, claimed that a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) for Electric Vehicles would soon be signed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

“It was completed. The president may sign the perpres (presidential decree) in the next few days,” the Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister said, according to Antara News.

Once signed, companies such as CATL, LG, and Tesla will be able to avail of several incentives. Among these is the elimination or reduction of taxes, as well as the exemption of import duties related to the needs of the companies’ operations.

Antara is one of Indonesia’s oldest news agencies. Founded in 1937 while the country was still a Dutch colony, Antara has emerged as the country’s national news agency. It is also the only agency authorized by the State to distribute news materials created by foreign media organizations. With this in mind, the reports of Tesla’s interest in Indonesia’s Morowali area are, at the very least, being related by one of the country’s most legitimate media organizations.

Tesla has expressed its intention to develop and produce its own battery cells. During the 2019 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Tesla CTO JB Straubel and VP for Technology Drew Baglino, together with CEO Elon Musk, spoke about the company’s need to secure large-scale battery cell production. Musk even commented that Tesla could end up in the mining business to acquire the necessary materials for its vehicles’ and energy storage products’ cells.

Reports from CNBC last month have also suggested that Tesla is already in the process of designing its own battery cells at a “skunkworks lab” located in the company’s Kato Road facility, just a few minutes from the Fremont, CA factory. According to the publication’s sources, Tesla is currently researching ways to make its batteries better, and coming up with ways to mass-produce the cells in a faster, more efficient manner.

Source: https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-to-build-lithium-battery-raw-material-factory-indonesia-report/

Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, posted a quarterly loss on Wednesday as costs spiked and production of gold and copper plunged at a key Indonesian mine.

While the loss, the company’s first since 2016, wasn’t as steep as analysts had expected, it comes as Freeport is spending billions of dollars to expand Indonesia’s Grasberg copper and gold mine underground, a two-year process that is vital to the company’s future.

Freeport reported a second-quarter net loss of $72 million, or 5 cents a share, after earning a net profit of $869 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items related to a water tax dispute in Indonesia, Freeport lost 4 cents per share. By that measure, analysts expected a loss of 5 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Shares of the Phoenix-based company rose 2.2% to $11.91 in midday trading, along with a rise in copper prices.

Production of copper sank 24% to 776 million pounds and gold output fell 79% to 160 million pounds. The price Freeport receives for its copper fell 10% during the quarter even as its costs doubled.

Freeport had warned of the quarterly loss at the beginning of the month.

Richard Adkerson, Freeport’s chief executive, said the Grasberg expansion was “advancing according to plan. Copper production from Grasberg is expected to rebound to 200 million pounds per year by 2020 and 900 million pounds per year by 2021.

“We remain very positive about the outlook for copper long term, underpinned by limited supplies, coupled with the important and growing role copper plays in the global economy,” Adkerson told investors on a Wednesday conference call.

Adkerson told Reuters earlier this year that Freeport plans no dividend hikes, acquisitions or debt buybacks over the next two years as it focuses on the Grasberg project.

“The investment case for Freeport really depends on development of the underground project at Grasberg,” said Jefferies mining analyst Christopher LaFemina, who has a “buy” rating on the company and a $15.50 price target.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-freeport-mcmoran-results/freeport-swings-to-quarterly-loss-as-copper-gold-output-drops-idUSKCN1UJ1JG

PT Kapuas Prima Coal Tbk (ZIN) achieved profit for the year of Rp 112.92 billion on June 30, 2019, rose by 36.04% from Rp 83 billion in the same period in 2018. The increase in profit was supported by growing sales.

Based on the company’s financial statement in the first semester of 2019, Kapuas Prima Coal recorded sales revenue of Rp 432.74 billion, rose by 16.16% compared to Rp 372.53 billion in the same period last year. The gross profit booked was Rp 215.15 billion, rose by 21.39% from Rp 177.23 billion. While the operating profit was recorded at Rp 164.98 billion, which grew by 20.65% from Rp 136.73 billion.

The largest contributor to the sales revenue were generated from Zinc (Zn) at Rp 252.96 billion, followed by the galena lead (Pb) at Rp 89.10 billion, Silver (Ag) of Rp 88.41 billion, and ore of Rp 1.55 billion. In the first semester of 2018, the Zinc (Zn) contributed to the sales revenue of Rp 209.18 billion, followed by the Galena-Lead (Pb) of Rp 116.51 billion, and Silver (Ag) of Rp 48.83 billion. (LK)

Source: https://www.idnfinancials.com/news/27121/kapuas-prima-coal-profit-increases

Vale SA’s Indonesian unit and partners plan to spend about US$5 billion (RM20.6 billion) on nickel projects over the next few years to tap bullish demand from the battery sector and steel market in China.

PT Vale Indonesia Tbk and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd aim to make the final investment decision for their US$2.5 billion battery-grade nickel plant in the first quarter, Febriany Eddy, deputy CEO of PT Vale, said in an interview.

The Jakarta-based company also plans to spend about US$1.8 billion on a ferronickel smelter and several hundred million dollars to expand its nickel mines, she said.

Nickel is the best performer on the London Metal Exchange (LME) this year as global inventories declined and stainless steel output posted robust growth.

While batteries currently account for a small part of consumption, in the long term, annual lithium-ion battery demand for nickel will increase ninefold between 2020 and 2030, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

Nickel has come into the spotlight for batteries, Eddy said in an interview in Jakarta last week.

While stainless steel will remain the primary market for nickel, batteries will consume 30% of supply in the long term, she said.

“If we see that, Indonesia actually can play a very important role there. We feel that if the government can seize the opportunity, it would be very good,” she added.

Indonesia, which was the top mined nickel supplier before halting shipments in 2014, is key for the development of electric-vehicle batteries.

Producers globally are developing six new High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) technology projects that collectively will be able to produce 220,000 tonnes of battery-grade refined nickel, and 70% of this capacity is being developed in Indonesia, according to BNEF.

Vale’s plant in the Pomalaa, South-East Sulawesi province will use HPAL technology to produce battery-grade nickel sulfates from lower-grade ores and will have an annual capacity of 40,000 tonnes, Eddy said.

Construction is scheduled to be completed in five years, she said.

Vale’s shares rose as much as 2.3% to 3,090 rupiah (RM0.91) yesterday. The shares had risen more than 25% from a 21-month low in May as nickel rallied.

Chinese Partner

Vale Indonesia joins Tsingshan Holding Group Co Ltd in building a battery-grade nickel plant in Indonesia.

The Tsingshan and partners’ plant in Sulawesi will have an annual output of about 50,000 tonnes of nickel compounds and 4,000 tonnes of cobalt compounds to be used in rechargeable batteries.

Vale will soon reveal its Chinese partner for the US$1.8 billion ferronickel plant in Central Sulawesi with an annual capacity of 70,000 tonnes, Eddy said.

She declined to name the partner as the negotiations are still continuing. The company expects to produce about 72,000 tonnes of nickel in matte from its South Sulawesi plant this year, she said.

Stake Divestment

On a planned stake divestment, the company will meet the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry this week to discuss the 20% stake sale.

Vale, which owns 58.7% of PT Vale, will sell 15% and Sumitomo, holder of 20.1%, will sell 5%, Eddy said.

PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, or Inalum, is interested in buying the stake and the acquisition will be based on Vale’s current market price, said Budi Gunadi Sadikin, president director of Indonesia’s state mining holding company.

Vale sees Inalum as a strategic partner because it’s 100%-owned by the Indonesian government, she said.

Source: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2019/07/24/vale-bets-on-batteries-china-with-rm20-6b-nickel-plans/

Mining giant Freeport-McMoRan swung to a loss in the second quarter as production and copper prices fell, while costs rose at its Indonesian mine.

The back story. The world’s largest publicly traded copper producer has posted revenue declines in the last two quarters as production has dropped and costs have risen.

Source: https://www.barrons.com/articles/mining-giant-freeport-mcmoran-earnings-hit-by-falling-copper-prices-51563977169

Here we take an in-depth look at the progress of and prospects for the Indonesia-focused copper mine developer.

What Asiamet Resources does:

Asiamet Resources Limited (LON:ARS) is an AIM-listed mine developer. It owns large copper-gold and polymetallic deposits on the Indonesian islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra. The deposits are adjacent to the key growth markets in Asia.

The group’s ‘flagship’ Beruang Kanan Main (BKM) Copper Project is northwest of Palangkaraya, the regional capital of Central Kalimantan, and is part of the Kalimantan Surya Kencana (KSK) district projects, which are 100%-owned by the company.

The Beruang Kanan Zinc (BKZ) polymetallic project is within the south-eastern area of the KSK, less than 800 metres north of the BKM copper project.

The wider KSK district also incorporates a number of targets in addition to BKM and BKZ, including the BK South (BKS) and BK West (BKW) copper prospects, and the Baroi polymetallic system prospect.

On Sumatra, the Beutong Project – in which Asiamet has an 80% equity interest –comprises the Beutong East Porphyry (BEP), Beutong West Porphyry (BWP) and the Beutong Skarn (BSK).

How’s it doing?

In June, Asiamet brought the market a trio of updates, all from BKM.

The company revealed that a ‘detailed and comprehensive’ feasibility study has confirmed a robust project based on open pit mining and solvent extraction-electro-winning (SX-EW) copper heap leach processing. At the same time, it defined a metal reserve for the project and provided an updated assessment of resources. With three meaningful milestones delivered the company is now looking ahead towards development and, ultimately, production. Of course, funding is the intermediate step.

Highlights of the feasibility study

• It detailed an initial nine year production life for the proposed mine, with output pitched at 25,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year
• It projected some US$1.27bn of life-of-mine revenue, and, pitched the project’s post tax net present value at US$133.5mln
• Initial capital expenditure is estimated at US$192mln and the C1 cash costs are forecast at US$1.65 per pound of copper

Maiden ore reserve

BKM’s first ore reserve comprised 21.1mln tonnes in the proved category, at a grade of 0.6%, representing some 137,000 tonnes of contained copper. It also had 30.4mln tonnes at 0.5% in the probable reserve category, for a further 166,000 tonnes of contained copper.

New resource update

The new resource estimate comprised 69.6mln tonnes in total with a grade of 0.6%, giving an aggregate of 451,900 tonnes of contained copper. It is made up of 20.6mln tonnes, at 0.7%, in the measured resource category plus 34.1mln tonnes, at 0.6%, in the indicated and 15mln tonnes, at 0.6%, in the inferred category.

What the brokers say

The independent research house Arden Partners restated its positive stance on copper mine developer in late July with a price target of 23p. This compared with a share price at the time of just 5p, that, according to Arden, fails to reflect the progress to date at the BKM copper project, in central Kalimantan, Indonesia.  City broker Liberum, which while not quite as bullish, rates the stock a ‘buy’ up to 16p – which still leaves significant upside.

So, what’s the problem?

Well, according to Arden, the market took a contrary view of the company’s BKM feasibility study, which along with a slight softening in the copper price, wiped out 2019’s gains.  It’s worth noting that in the first-quarter, Asiamet had been one of AIM’s star performers with a 75% advance.

Setting aside the fickle short-term nature of London’s junior bourse, the company offers significant long-term potential, according to Arden, which ranks it among its top picks. “We see good value at current levels, particularly when taking a longer-term view of the stock and the value creation to come through Beutong,” the research house said in a note. Beutong, described in some quarters as Asiamet’s ‘jewel in the crown’, is a large porphyry copper-gold system located on the island of Sumartra, Indonesia.

Outlook for copper

S&P Global, in a July research note said it expects the copper price to improve to US$6,176 per tonne in the second half from US$5,978.60 currently, with an easing in trade tensions improving financial sentiment. Declining stocks of the metal provides a key driver for S&P’s 2021 forecast of US$6,542. In other words, market conditions are currently supportive for developers such as Asiamet.

Source: https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/224499/asiamet-resources-yet-to-be-rewarded-for-significant-progress-it-has-made-224499.html

In a bid to reduce reliance upon imported finished metals and as a means to reduce exports of raw materials, Indonesia announced plans to spend billions of dollars to construct aluminium and nickel smelters. According to comments made by PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium’s President Director Budi Gunadi Sadikin, his firm will set aside up to USD10 billion in the coming five years for building aluminium and nickel refineries and smelters. Along with Persero, bauxite and nickel mining subsidiary PT Aneka Tambang is also expected to pitch into the development kitty.

Mr Sadikin in an interview with Bloomberg said that “The refinery will use Indonesia’s abundant bauxite supply. This is an energy-intensive industry. We can benefit from abundant water supply and construct hydro power plants.”

Mr Sadikin continued by saying that Inalum’s Mempawah refinery will soon see a production increase to 2 million metric tonnes, with half its yield sent overseas in an effort at capitalizing on a boon market for alumina.

Meanwhile, Inalum is slated to take advantage of its access to 579 million wet metric tons via Aneka Tambang (Antam) to increase production from 250 thousand metric tonnes of aluminium per annum to 2 million metric tonnes per annum over the next 16 years.

Source: https://steelguru.com/metal/indonesia-aluminium-smelter-to-invest-usd-10-billion-in-refining-and-smelting-projects/544930

Indonesia’s largest tin miner PT Timah expects to more than double its refined tin production this year but has started taking steps to slow down output, a senior company official said on Thursday.

Timah estimates output to reach around 70,000 tonnes this year, said Alwin Albar, operational director at Timah.

The increase follows a change in regulations last year that allowed the company to acquire output from illegal miners within their concessions.

“We are actually trying to hit the brakes amid this sluggish tin market,” Albar said in an interview in Pangkalpinang on Bangka Island.

Company data showed Timah produced 33,444 tonnes of refined tin in 2018.

He said activities at the company’s Batu Besi mine in neighboring Belitung island has now been cut to eight hours from a normally non-stop 24-hour operation.

Prices of tin in London has dropped to below $18,000 per tonne this month, down from one-year highs at $21,800 a tonne in February.

In 2018, Timah’s average selling price was $20,205 per tonne.

Albar, who is also chairman of Indonesia’s tin exporters association (AETI), declined to give company’s price estimate for the rest of the year but said he saw the current downturn in global tin prices as short term.

He said electric vehicles would be a future demand boost.

“Tin is already being used in automotives, but the portion of use will be much larger in EVs, not to mention in the batteries,” Albar said. “There will be jump in demand.”

International Tin Association, said in a report in February, that lithium-ion batteries could grow to represent a significant new use of tin in 2025-2030.

In Indonesia, the government is pushing for development of plants for EVs and components to create a downstream industry for the country’s mineral output such as nickel that can be processed into battery chemicals to be used in EVs.

Japanese automaker Toyota has committed to invest $2 billion in Indonesia over the next five years, part of which will be used to produce EVs, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said.

A number of battery makers have also expressed an initial interest to build plants in Indonesia, a ministry official said.

Albar however said he has no timeline yet on when the company expects to start commercial rare earth production.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-tin/indonesias-timah-set-to-double-refined-tin-output-director-idUSKCN1UK2B7

Weak prices hit the first half results of metals and mining company Eramet (ERMT.PA), although Eramet said it expected its second-half results to show an improvement.

Sales dipped to 1.809 billion euros ($2 billion) from 1.813 billion a year earlier. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 29% to 307 million.

Eramet also posted a group net loss of 37 million euros for the first-half, taking into account the impact of tax charges and expenses.

However, Eramet said steps taken to improve its business, such as approval from the New Caledonia government for Eramet’s SLN arm to export lower-grade nickel ore and a push into the electric vehicles sector, should improve its results later on.

Chairman and Chief Executive Christel Bories made electric vehicle minerals a priority when she took up her post last year, shifting its focus away from the steel industry that absorbs most of Eramet’s historical nickel and manganese output.

“Our strategic developments will contribute significantly to the momentum to reposition the group,” said Bories.

“Nickel production in Weda Bay, Indonesia, should start in H2 2020, ahead of schedule, and our highly value accretive projects to expand manganese production in Gabon and develop lithium in Argentina have taken a key step forward with their internal validation and active search for financing,” she added.

The French state has a 25.6% stake in Eramet.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eramet-results/mining-and-metals-group-eramet-hopes-for-better-second-half-after-weak-prices-hit-first-half-results-idUSKCN1UJ2OM

Gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) sold less copper and gold in the first half of 2019, decreasing to almost half the amount sold during the same period last year due to the transition from open pit to underground site.

According to the “second quarter and first-semester” report of US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX), one of the shareholders of PTFI, the latter’s copper sales in the first six months of 2019 stood at 325 million pounds or 48 percent lower year-on-year (yoy).

The lower copper sales were in line with the decrease in production, which fell 58.9 percent to 270 million pounds in the January-June period this year from 658 million pounds in the same period last year.

During the same period, PTFI’s gold sales fell 67.03 percent to 420,000 ounces from 1.27 million ounces. Its gold production dropped 76.3 percent to only 316 million ounces from 1.33 million ounces.

By December 2019, FCX estimates that PTFI’s consolidated copper and gold sales volumes will stand at 600 million pounds of copper and 800,000 ounces of gold.

“PTFI will continue to monitor geotechnical conditions to determine the extent of mining at the Grasberg open pit. As PTFI transitions mining from the open pit to underground, metal production is expected to improve by 2021,” FCX further stated. (hen)

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/25/freeports-gold-and-copper-sales-down-50-due-to-mine-transition.html

Gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) is seeking to double its concentrate export quota this year as the company is looking to increase output from Grasberg, the world’s largest gold mine and second-largest copper mine.

PTFI expects the government to approve its request for a bigger export quota in the third quarter. The expectation came after the company opened an additional mining area in the Grasberg open pit in the second quarter as it enters the final phase of mining the open pit.

“PTFI will continue to monitor geotechnical conditions to determine the extent of mining in the Grasberg open pit,” US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), which owns a 48.76 percent stake in PTFI, wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

The transition from open pit to underground mine is taking place this year and is expected to produce large scale quantities of copper and gold from the high-grade underground ore bodies.

“We are pleased to report that the executive of the underground ramp-up at Grasberg is advancing according to plan and recent milestones are encouraging as we target increasing volumes and cash flow from the Grasberg minerals district,” said FCX president and CEO Richard C. Adkerson.

PTFI utilized its approved export quota of 180,000 tons of concentrate in the first half for the current export period that expires March 8, 2020, the company noted.

The proposed additional export quota stands at around 200,000 tons of concentrate, according to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s director general for minerals and coal Bambang Gatot Ariyono.

“They also proposed for additional exports of copper concentrate in line with additional output,” he said, adding the decision will be made in August.

No details were unveiled on the expected additional output from the Grasberg mine, although PTFI previously expected to produce less due to the transition from the open pit to underground mines, namely the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine and the Deep Mill Level Zone (DMLZ).

PTFI concentrate output this year is expected to reach 1.3 million tons, of which 200,000 tons are for the export market and the rest to be channeled into local copper smelter PT Smelting in Gresik, according to government data.

“The production was down to around 1.3 million tons of concentrate from 2.2 million tons last year due to the operational shift to the underground mine from an open pit,” the ministry’s director for minerals, Yunus Saefulhak, said in March.

The lower output this year translated into PTFI’s gold and copper sales as of June that only reached half the amount the company booked in the same period last year.

PTFI copper sales in the first six months of 2019 stood at 325 million pounds or 48 percent lower year-on-year (yoy). The lower sales in copper were in line with the decrease in its production at only 270 million pounds of copper, or 58.9 percent lower.

Gold sales of PTFI also slid 67.03 percent to 420,000 ounces in the first half this year compared with the same period last year. Gold production dropped 76.3 percent to 316 million ounces of gold.

Until December, FCX estimated that the PTFI’s consolidated copper and gold sales volumes will stand at 600 million pounds of copper and 800,000 ounces of gold.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/26/freeport-seeks-double-export-quota-year.html

PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk (ITMG) may still be affected by the fluctuations in coal prices in the global and domestic markets in the second semester of 2019.

Isnaputra Iskandar, Analyst of Maybank Kim Eng, said the drop in coal prices in the global market will have a major impact on the performance of ITMG. The reason, said Iskandar, is that the company exports 90% of its total production.

For information, the price of coal for December 2019 shipments is at the level of US$ 74.40 per tonne on Friday (26/7). This price is 17.05% lower than the price at the beginning of January.

Iskandar explained that starting in the second semester of this year, the price of coal in the domestic market would be more determined by demand and supply in the market. “We have assumed that the price will be based on the market,” said Iskandar, as reported by Kontan. “Because there is no major political event in 2020,” he added. (KR/AR)

Source: https://www.idnfinancials.com/news/27172/indo-tambangraya-performance-price-fluctuation

PT Bayan Resources Tbk (BYAN) recorded a 34.24% year on year (yoy) net profit drop in the first half of 2019 due to plunging coal prices.

Based on the company’s’ H1 financial statements, BYAN recorded US$ 858.57 in revenue as of June 2019, slightly up 2.57% yoy froom US$ 837.09 million. However, its cost of revenue rose 34.64% yoy to US$ 510.62 million from US$ 379.25 million, which caused its gross profit to fall 24% yoy to US$ 347.94 million.

The company’s cost of goods sold also grew 58.79% yoy from US$ 57.78 million to US$ 91.75 million as of June 2019. Thus, the company’s H1 net profit was recorded at US$ 178.71 million, down 34.24% yoy from US$ 271.78 million.

“The net profit drop was caused by low coal prices,” said BYAN Director Jenny Quantero as quoted by Bisnis Indonesia. (AM/MS)

Source: https://www.idnfinancials.com/news/27189/h-bayan-resources-profit-drops-plunging-coal-prices

There were further signs that the low-calorific value Indonesian coal market was softening today, as details of a trade involving an August-loading GAR 4,200 kcal/kg cargo emerged at a lower price than recent comparable transactions.

The August-loading geared supramax GAR 4,200 kcal/kg cargo sold to a Chinese buyer at $33/t today. This is broadly in line with bids and offers in the market for this type of coal so far this week, but below the $34.50/t level that a similar deal was done at last week. Bids for August-loading supramax cargoes of this coal were stable compared with yesterday at around $32-33/t, while most offers were also little changed at around $33-34/t.

The ICI 4 derivatives market was quiet today after 150,000t traded earlier this week, taking the total volume cleared this month to 484,000t. August ICI 4 futures were bid at $33.75/t and offered at $34.25/t, while September was bid at $33.70/t and offered at $34.20/t. By comparison, Argus-assessed settlement prices yesterday for August and September were both at $34.20/t.

The Australian market saw an October-loading 25,000t clip of NAR 6,000 kcal/kg coal traded at $74.75/t fob Newcastle, while a September-loading 75,000t cargo traded at a $2.80/t discount to the GlobalCoal index. But neither of these trades were relevant to the Argus index.

China’s domestic spot market had the tradeable level for NAR 5,500 kcal/kg coal around 600 yuan/t fob north China ports, largely steady compared with earlier this week.

A heatwave across large parts of China since last week has raised power demand for air-conditioning, which in turn is boosting coal consumption and market participants expect this could offer some support to domestic prices for the rest of this month.

China’s futures market had the September contract on the Zhengzhou commodity exchange close at Yn592.40/t, down by Yn0.80/t from yesterday.

Source: https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/1946453-indonesian-coal-prices-steady-amid-slow-spot-trade?backToResults=true

The company offers significant long-term potential, according to Arden, which ranks it among its top picks.

The independent research house Arden Partners has restated its positive stance on copper mine developer Asiamet Resources PLC (LON:ARS) with a price target of 23p.

This compares with a current share price of just 5p, that, according to Arden, fails to reflect the progress to date at the BKM copper project, in central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

City broker Liberum, which while not quite as bullish, rates the stock a ‘buy’ up to 16p – which still leaves significant upside.

So, what’s the problem?

Well, according to Arden, the market took a contrary view of the company’s BKM feasibility study, which, along with a slight softening in the copper price, wiped out 2019’s gains.

It’s worth noting that in the first-quarter, Asiamet had been one of AIM’s star performers with a 75% advance.

Setting aside the fickle short-term nature of London’s junior bourse, the company offers significant long-term potential, according to Arden, which ranks it among its top picks.

“We see good value at current levels, particularly when taking a longer-term view of the stock and the value creation to come through Beutong,” the research house said in a note.

Beutong, described in some quarters as Asiamet’s ‘jewel in the crown’, is a large porphyry copper-gold system located on the island of Sumartra, Indonesia.

Separately, S&P Global, in a piece of recently-minted research, said it expects the copper price to improve to US$6,176 per tonne in the second half from US$5,978.60 currently, with an easing in trade tensions improving financial sentiment. Declining stocks of the metal underpin S&P’s 2021 forecast of US$6,542.

In other words, market conditions are currently supportive for developers such as Asiamet.

Source: https://www.miningcapital.com/companies/news/224494/asiamet-resources-arden-partners-still-bullish-with-a-price-target-of-23p-224494.html

Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said that state-owned steelmaker PT Krakatau Steel needs a total overhaul to improve its performance so that the company’s products can compete with imported products.

“Krakatau Steel has to fundamentally change its management and improve its technology,” Kalla said on Tuesday as reported by tempo.co, adding that with a total debt of Rp 30 trillion (US$2.12 billion), Krakatau Steel’s financial difficulties were quite severe.

He pointed out that Krakatau Steel had not been able to resolve a long-standing problem, namely the old technology it used. “The technology is too old and is rivaled by China, [which produces steel at] lower prices. So Krakatau Steel cannot compete,” he said.

He said the government had to help state-owned enterprises, including Krakatau Steel, but it did not mean that the government had to pay off their debts because it had its own debts.

Krakatau Steel is in the process of restructuring and has transferred about 2,000 employees to its subsidiaries. Up to the first quarter of this year, Krakatau Steel’s losses increased more than 1,000 percent year-on-year (yoy) to $64 million, while its revenue slumped 13.82 percent yoy to $418.98 million.

Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association (IISIA) executive director Yerry Idroes said local steelmakers could not compete with imported products, particularly those from China.

“Statistics Indonesia recorded that from January to March, imports of iron and steel grew 14.75 percent year-on-year to $2.76 billion. [Steel and iron] imports were the fourth-largest [among other commodities],” he said recently.

Meanwhile, the South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI) recorded that Indonesia’s steel imports in 2018 reached 7.6 million tons worth $10.25 billion, representing 6.45 percent of the country’s total imports. (gis/bbn)

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/24/krakatau-steel-needs-total-overhaul-kalla.html

Precious metals miner G-Resources has completed its first gold pour at its flagship project, the Martabe mine, in Indonesia.

The Hong Kong-listed miner said on Wednesday that the start of production at Martabe marked a significant milestone for the company.

“Now that we have secured first gold, we are on track to complete commissioning activities and ramp production up to full capacity over the coming months,” said CEO Peter Albert.

“At capacity of 250 000 oz/y of gold and 2.5-million ounces a year of silver, this will be one of the largest gold mines in Indonesia and Asia. And we are coming on stream at a time when the gold market continues to strengthen.”

The Martabe project, which has been in development for the past three years, has a resource base of almost 8 million ounces of gold and nearly 74 million ounces of silver.

The company is now planning to expand the Martabe operation through adding to its existing resource and reserve base, and stepping up exploration efforts.

Source: https://www.mining.com/g-resources-pours-first-gold-at-indonesias-martabe-mine-70807/24/

At least three people were killed and one remained missing after a tin mine collapsed in Indonesia’s Bangka Belitung province, after the body of one more miner was retrieved on Sunday, a disaster agency official said.

The incident happened on Saturday at a tin mine owned by Indonesian firm PT Timah, located in Silingsing village of Belitung Timur district, head of operational and emergency unit of the provincial disaster management agency Aswind Abu Nawar said.

“A hill of sand suddenly fell down and hit miners who were working in the area, burying four out of the 10 miners there,” he told Xinhua via phone from the province.

The miners were partners of the company. They worked in the firm’s mine area and sold all the results of their works to the firm, said Aswind.

The search and rescue operation had been underway since Saturday and will resume on Monday, he said.

The operation involved soldiers, police, personnel from search and rescue office, disaster management agency office and volunteers, said Aswind.

Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/28/c_138265118.htm

Indonesia’s non-government organizations (NGOs) urged President Joko Widodo and Parliament to cancel mineral and coal bill draft. The organizations assess the draft rule very hastily and just accommodate certain parties interests such as elites and capital owners.

Aryanto Nugroho, a spokesman from Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Aryanto Nugroho said mineral and coal bill has potentially problematic because it does not consider various stakeholders. According to him, draft law should be transparent, open and involve broad community participation.

“We suspect, mineral and coal bill to accommodate the extension number of companies holding Coal Mining Concession Work Agreements that have been and will end in near future,” he said in Jakarta on Thursday (07/25).

Meanwhile, the Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI) observed the bill including Government Problems Inventory List changing substantially Article 169 of applicable Law. The bill set Coal Mining Work Contract or Work Agreement reached an automatic extension of twice for ten years. This automatic extension is in the form of a Special Mining Business License, Coal Mining Concession Work Contract and Work Contract.

In addition, it also gave the right to re-enter the area that has a Special Mining Business License with an area in accordance with the work plan of the entire mining area in an adjustment, it said.

According to the organizations investigation, parliament set 12 major points in Government’s Inherent Issue Bill as Inter-sectoral problem solving, Strengthening mining areas concept, Increasing coal use as a national energy source, Strengthening policies to increase mineral value-added, Encouraging exploration activities to increasing mineral deposits discovery, special arrangements regarding permits for rock exploitation and accommodating the decisions of Constitutional Court and Law Number 23 year 2014.

In addition, availability of mineral and coal mining plans, Strengthening central government role in fostering and supervising regional governments, Providing incentives to those who build smelters and mine mouth steam power plants, Strengthening the Role of State-Owned Enterprises, Changing Contracts of Work or Concession Work Agreements Coal Mining is a Special Mining Business License in the context of continuing operations.

Meanwhile, NGOs considers that the bill and Inventory List of Government Issues is very problematic because it does not reflect the sovereignty of the state as Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution. In addition, it contradicts the spirit of developing renewable clean energy.

Moreover, the bill actually provides many incentives for coal exploitation, does not pay attention to aspects of ecological interests and environmental protection, does not provide protection for the rights and safety of citizens and other socio-economic aspects.

“This Problem Inventory List of the bill actually provides an opportunity for a close-up of unlimited natural resources, and has the potential to be used to criminalize people accused of obstructing mining activities,” said the spokesman.

Melky Nahar, Jaringan Advokasi Tambang (JATAM) spokesman says the bill is not in favor of people’s safety. He says it has the potential to increase the expansion of new mining commodities starting from rare earth metals, radioactivity until Seabed Mining.

Nahar says more than 90 percent of the bill also discussed the process of licensing and mining. The people’s veto and indigenous peoples rights are denied space.

He added that the addition of article 115 A which strengthens article 162 of the old law to provide a room for the criminalization of citizens who convey their rights to reject mining.

“In article 99 paragraph 2 legitimizing mine pits to be used as irrigation and tourism, which will legalize the company continuing to leave destruction,” he ended.

Source: https://theinsiderstories.com/indonesias-ngos-urges-government-to-cancel-mineral-and-coal-bill-draft/

PT Exploitasi Energi Indonesia Tbk (CNKO) will potentially lose 50% of its revenue after selling its stake in PT Dwi Guna Laksana Tbk (DWGL).

CNKO Corporate Secretary Wim Andrian said the company sold its stake in DWGL for Rp 426.16 billion to Hawthorn-Capital Investment Pte Ltd. The company owned its stake in DWGL through another subsidiary, PT Energi Batubara Indonesia.

“The transaction is not an affiliate transaction between the seller and the buyer or the issuer,” said Mr Andrian in an information disclosure. In addition, he added that the asset sales will reduce the portion of the company’s coal delivery to PT PLN (Persero).

The corporate action has been received rather negatively by both domestic and foreign investors. For the past few days, CNKO’s stock price has been stagnant at Rp 50 per share, while DWGL’s stock price has remained at Rp 88 per share. (KR/MS)

Source: https://www.idnfinancials.com/news/27128/exploitasi-energi-indonesia-lose-revenue-selling-stake-subsidiary

PT Bumi Resources Tbk. (“BUMI” or the “Company”) has convened an Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) or “the Meeting”), Tuesday (18/6) at J.S Luwansa Hotel. The Meeting had satisfied the quorum as it was attended by the shareholders, representing 33,699,426,952 shares or 51,47% of total shares carrying valid voting rights issued by the Company, in accordance with the provision of POJK No. 32 and Article 11 paragraph (1.a) of the Articles of Association of the Company, and the Meeting was therefore declared valid and may adopt resolutions that are valid and binding upon the Company.

The Agenda Items of the AGM were as follow:
1. Approval for Directors Accountability Statement in respect of the Company’s operations for Financial Year ended 31 December 2018.
2. Ratification of Balance Sheet and Profit/Loss Accounts for Financial Year ended 31 December 2018.
3. Utilization of Profit of the Company.
4. Appointment of Public Accountant to conduct the audit of Financial Statements of the Company for Financial Year ended 31 December 2019.
5. Change and/or reconfirmation of composition of Directors and Board of Commissioners of the Company.

By way of voting, the Meeting based on majority votes resolved the following:

First Agenda Item:
1. To approve the Company’s Annual Report, the key points of which have been presented by Directors of the Company and reviewed by Board of Commissioners regarding the conditions and operations of the Company for financial year ended on 31 December 2018.

Second Agenda Item
1. To approve Financial Statements of the Company for financial year ended on 31 December 2018, having been audited by Public Accounting Office Amir Abadi Jusuf, Aryanto Mawar dan Rekan (RSM Indonesia) with an Unqualified Opinion as set out in their report No. 00272/2.1030/AU.1/02/0501-2/1/III/2019 of 28 March 2019.
2. To grant full release and discharge to Directors and Board of Commissioners of the Company for their managerial and supervisory activities for financial year ended 31 December 2018 (acquit et de charge) so long as and to the extent that their actions are reflected in the Annual Report and Financial statements of the Company for financial year ended on 31 December 2018 and are not contradictory to laws and regulations.

Third Agenda Item
1. To declare that for the financial year ended 31 December 2018, the Company is unable to distribute dividends to all of its shareholders.

Fourth Agenda Item
1. To appoint Public Accounting Office Amir Abadi Jusuf, Aryanto, Mawar dan Rekan (RSM) as the auditor who will be auditing financial statements of the Company for financial year ended December 31, 2019 and/or for a given period throughout 2019 (as and when needed at any time), as well as grant the powers and authority to Directors of the Company to determine the amount of honorarium for Public Accountant, as well as other requirements for their appointment upon considering the recommendation of Board of Commissioners of the Company.
2. To grant the authority to the Meeting to delegate the appointment and dismissal of public accountant who will be auditing the financial statements of the Company for financial year 2019, and other periods in financial year 2019, to Board of Commissioners, upon considering their recommendations in accordance with the provisions of Article 36A paragraph (1) of Rule of OJK No. 10/POJK.04/2017 on Amendment to Rule of OJK No.32/POJK.04/2014 on the Planning and Convening of General Meetings of Publicly Listed Companies.

Fifth Agenda Item
1. To approve the resignation of Bapak Haiyong Yu from his position as Director of the Company, as well as grant a full release and discharge (acquit et decharge) from all his managerial and supervisory actions carried out in relation to his function as Director of the Company, which resignation shall take effect as of the closing of the Meeting.

2. To approve the appointment of Bapak Yingbin Ian He as Director of the Company, which appointment shall take effect as of the closing of the Meeting until such time as the office term of the replaced member of Directors expires in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Company, namely at the Annual General Meeting 2022 of the Company, without impairing the rights of the shareholders to dismiss him at any time, according to the prevailing laws and regulations.

3. To approve the reappointment of:
1) Bapak Saptari Hoedaja, as President Director of the Company;
2) Bapak Andrew C. Beckham, as Director of the Company;
3) Bapak Dileep Srivastava, as Independent Director of the Company;
4) Ibu R.A. Sri Dharmayanti, as Director of the Company;
5) Bapak Nalinkant Amratlal Rathod, as President Commissioner of the Company.

which appointment shall take effect as of the closing of the Meeting until such time as the Annual General Meeting 2024 of the Company is held, without impairing the right of the Shareholders to dismiss each of them at any time in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations.

Accordingly, the composition of Board of Commissioners and Directors of the Company shall be as follows:

Board of Commissioners:
1) Bapak Nalinkant Amratlal Rathod, as President Commissioner of the Company;
2) Bapak Drs. Anton Setianto Soedarsono, as Independent Commissioner of the Company;
3) Bapak Drs. Kanaka Poeradiredja, as Independent Commissioner of the Company;
4) Bapak Y.A Didik Cahyanto, as Independent Commissioner of the Company;
5) Bapak R. Eddie Junianto Subari, as Commissioner of the Company;
6) Bapak Thomas Myer Kearney, as Commissioner of the Company;
7) Bapak Jinping Ma, as Commissioner of the Company; and
8) Bapak Wen Yao, as Commissioner of the Company.

Directors:
1) Bapak Saptari Hoedaja, as President Director of the Company;
2) Bapak Andrew C. Beckham, as Director of the Company;
3) Bapak Dileep Srivastava, as Independent Director of the Company;
4) R.A. Sri Dharmayanti, as Director of the Company;
5) Linjung Zhang, as Director of the Company;
6) Xuefeng Ruan, as Director of the Company; and
7) Bapak Yingbin Ian He, as Director of the Company.

4. To grant full authority and powers with the right of substitution to Directors of the Company either individually or jointly to perform any necessary acts in relation to the resolutions adopted herein, including but not limited to stating the appointments of the members of Board of Commissioners and Directors of the Company in a notarial deed and registering the same in the Company Register in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations.

5. To approve the grant of authority to Board f Commissioners of the Company, taking into account the recommendations from the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Company, to determine the salary, honorarium and other allowances (if any), as well as distribution of duties and authority of each member of Directors and Board of Commissioners.

Asiamet (“ARS” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that all resolutions proposed to shareholders at the Company’s AGM held earlier today were duly passed.

Amongst other resolutions, all existing directors Peter Bird, Tony Manini, Peter Pollard, Faldi Ismail and Dominic Heaton were re-elected as directors of the Company.

Also at the AGM, Ernst & Young LLP were appointed as the Company’s auditors for the 2019 fiscal year, and the authorised share capital was increased to US$15,000,000 divided into 1,500,000,000 common shares of US$0.01 par value each.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Peter Bird, Deputy Chairman and CEO

Source: http://www.asiametresources.com/regulatorynews/2019/06/25/results-of-agm/

Asiamet Resources Limited (“Asiamet” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Feng (Bruce) Sheng as a Non-Executive Director to the Board effective from 10 July 2019. Mr Sheng is the Chairman of Melbourne based Asipac Group Pty Ltd, a diversified company with investments across the resources and financial sectors, and various property businesses. Mr Sheng also currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Australia China Business Council (Victoria) and the Executive Chairman of ASX listed Terramin Australia Ltd, a company developing a portfolio of zinc and gold projects in Australia and Algeria.

Tony Manini, Executive Chairman commented:

“On behalf of the Company we welcome Bruce to the Asiamet Board. Bruce has been a long-term supportive shareholder and we look forward to the opportunity to work more closely with him as we move into the project financing and development stage for the BKM project and continue advancing our other high potential projects on the KSK CoW and at Beutong. Bruce has spent the past 25 years working at the interface between China-Australia business and brings extensive experience and networks across China and greater Asia to the Asiamet board. This is particularly relevant given China’s One Belt-One Road policy and the large amount of Chinese inbound investment into Indonesia associated with it. Enhancing the Company’s level of connectivity with China is expected to add significant value as we continue the development of our portfolio of high-quality copper, gold and polymetallic projects. Different skills and experience will be required to take the Company forward and as such further evolution and strengthening of the board and management team is considered an important requisite for continued growth. Our ability to attract new directors of the calibre of Bruce, and Dominic before him, are testament to the progress we have made and the quality of the growth opportunity that Asiamet presents for investors. We look forward to continuing to deliver on our plans for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

The Company provides the following additional disclosure as at 10 July 2019 relating to the appointment of Mr Feng (Bruce) Sheng as director of Asiamet, effective 10 July 2019:

Mr Feng (Bruce) Sheng, aged 56, currently holds or has held the following directorships and partnerships over the last five years.

Mr.Sheng,through the holdings of Asipac Group,has an8.55% interest in the securities of Asiamet at the date of this announcement.

Except as disclosed in this announcement, neither the Company nor Mr. Sheng are aware of any further disclosures that are required in respect of the appointment of Mr. Sheng under Rule 17 or paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules for Companies.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Tony Manini, Executive Chairman

Source: http://www.asiametresources.com/regulatorynews/2019/07/17/asiamet-director-appointment/