Indonesia's Vale Ltd partnered with potential partners in China and Japan to conduct smelting projects in Bahodopi and Pomalaa in the southeastern island of Sulawesi.
A final investment decision on the project is scheduled for the end of 2021.
Indonesia's Vale is in talks with potential partners in China over the Bahodopi ferro-nickel smelter (RKEF) project, the company's president, Febriany Eddy, said.
However, the epidemic has limited interactions and exchanges among countries, and the negotiation process has been hampered by the epidemic.
The Inco - listed company expects the main agreement to be completed this year, allowing it to continue to discuss other agreements in more detail.
"We are also working in parallel to prepare the required permits so that the FID (final investment decision) on the Bahodopi project can be completed by the end of this year or early next year at the latest," Febriany said on Thursday, 29 April.
Inco will also attract Japanese companies to participate in Pomalaa's high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) smelter project.
He went on to say that progress on the project has now reached the stage of core negotiations and that the company expects to sign the final investment decision (FID) for the Pomalaa project next year.
Febriany said the company attracted both potential companies with its mature capabilities and technology.
Inco estimates that the investment required for Pomalaa will be about $2.5 billion and that for Bahodopi it will be $1.5 billion.
However, project values will also be adjusted in FID, which will also have an impact on achieving the goals.
Initially, Inco aimed to complete the Pomalaa program by 2025, while Bahodopi would be completed by 2024.
In addition to the smelter project, Inco has also decided to postpone the planned renovation of the No. 4 furnace from May 2021 to November 2021.
The project includes $135 million in Inco's capital expenditure budget for this year.
However, Inco maintained the matte and nickel production target set at the beginning of the year at around 64,000 tonnes in 2021, lower than the 72,200 tonnes achieved in 2020.
While nickel prices are rising, higher coal and oil prices are likely to increase Inco's production burden this year.
At its annual general meeting held on Thursday, April 29, Inco decided to pay a dividend of $33 million for fiscal 2020, or $0.00333 per share.
This value equates to 40% of net income of $82.81 million.
The payout would be the first in nearly six years.
At the AGM, Febriany Eddy was appointed President of Vale Indonesia, succeeding Nicolas D.Kanter.
Ismaputra Iskandar, an analyst at Maybank Kim Eng Securities Indonesia, said in a research note that with nickel prices still in the $16,000 / ton range, Inco's profit forecast for 2021 could be higher than $83 million.
