The Sorowako mine is a large open pit lateritic nickel mine in the east of Indonesia in the Verbeek Mountains of Sulawesi (the Celebes).[2] It lies just south of Lake Matano. As of 2023, Sorowako is one of the largest nickel mines in the world[3] with proven and probable nickel reserves of 107 million tonnes of ore grading 1.70% nickel, containing 1.81 million tonnes of nickel metal.[4]
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Sorowako Mine | |
| Province | Sulawesi |
| Country | Indonesia |
| Coordinates | 2°34′25″S 121°22′27″E / 2.57361°S 121.37417°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Nickel-in-matte |
| Production | US$1,232 million |
| Financial year | 2023 |
| Type | surface |
| History | |
| Discovered | 1901 |
| Opened | 1978 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Mining Industri Indonesia (MIND ID) 34% Vale Canada 33.9% Sumitomo Metal Mining 11.5% Others 20.6%[1] |
| Year of acquisition | 2024 |
History
editNickel was first discovered at Sorowako in 1901 by the Dutch missionary, ethnographer, and amateur mineralogist, Albert Kruyt.[5] In 1915, the Dutch mining engineer Eduard C. Abendanon confirmed that report.[6][7] In 1934, H. R.‘Flat’ Elves, an Inco geologist, dug test pits and did a feasibility study.[6][7]
In 1968, Inco, as PT Inco, received the mining concession in Sorowako[7] and began mapping and exploratory analysis.[8] In 1977, it opened a smelter and the following year began commercial production, in April 1978.[8][9]
In 2006 when Vale S.A. purchased Inco,[10] PT Inco (Indonesian Inco) was reorganized with changed percentages of ownership and became PT Vale (Vale Indonesia), a subsidiary of Vale S.A.[7]
Mine
editThe mine is an open pit surface mine.[2] The ore is smectite containing disseminated nickel as fine-grained manganese-nickel silicates in a laterite profile.[11][12] The major nickel mineral is garnierite.[11]
The ore is treated in a co-located processing plant to produce an intermediate nickel-in-matte product used in the manufacture of refined nickel. The 2023 annual ore production was 13,452,663 tonnes (2022: 11,552,911 tonnes) to produce 70,728 tonnes of nickel matte (2022: 60,090 tonnes). The matte has an average content of 78% nickel, 1%-2% cobalt, and 20%-21% sulphur. Total sales of nickel matte in 2023 were US$1,232 million.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Sumitomo Metal Mining Announces PTVI Divestment Agreement with MIND ID" (PDF). Sumitomo Metal Mining. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Sorowako Mine (PT International Nickel mine; Soroaka Mine; Soroako Mine), Soroako (Sorowako), South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia". MinDat. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022.
- ^ "The world's ten largest nickel mines". Mining Technology. 26 April 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ a b "2023 Annual Report". PT Vale Indonesia. 30 April 2024. p. 43. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Arif, Irwandy (2018). Nikel Indonesia (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. p. 35. ISBN 978-602-06-1935-4.
- ^ a b Arif 2018
- ^ a b c d Bobbette, Adam (18 August 2022). "In Sorowako". London Review of Books. Vol. 44, no. 16. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Karonsi'e Dongi people and Vale mine in Sorowako, Sulawesi, Indonesia". Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas). 20 March 2019. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023.
- ^ "PT International Nickel Indonesia Tbk 2007 Annual Report". Vale. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
- ^ Denison, Daniel R.; et al. (2012). Leading Culture Change in Global Organizations: Aligning Culture and Strategy. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass (Wiley). p. 141. ISBN 978-1-118-23510-2.
- ^ a b Sufriadin, Arifudin Idrus; et al. (2011). "Thermal and Infrared Studies of Garnierite from the Soroako Nickeliferous Laterite Deposit, Sulawesi, Indonesia" (PDF). Indonesian Journal of Geology. 7 (2): 77–85.
- ^ Ilyas, Asran; Kashiwaya, Koki; Koike, Katsuaki (2016). "Ni grade distribution in laterite characterized from geostatistics, topography and the paleo-groundwater system in Sorowako, Indonesia". Journal of Geochemical Exploration. 165: 174–188. doi:10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.03.002.