SEAToday.com, West Sumbawa - President Joko Widodo inaugurated the copper smelter and precious metal refinery of PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (AMNT) in West Sumbawa Regency, West Nusa Tenggara.

“I am happy because today (Indonesia) as the owner of copper reserves is among the world's top seven, we have entered a new chapter in the downstreaming of the copper industry,” he said in West Sumbawa on Monday.

Jokowi said that Indonesia's gross domestic product is currently still dominated by domestic consumption with a figure reaching 56 percent.

According to him, the operation of the copper smelter is an effort to reverse Indonesia's gross domestic product from consumption to production.

“We also want the world's need for copper products to depend on our country Indonesia in the future,” Jokowi said.

Amman's precious metal smelter and refining facility stands on an area of 272 hectares. It is located 1.5 kilometers from Benete Port.

The smelter's processing capacity reaches 900 thousand tons per year by processing copper concentrates from the Batu Hijau mine and the Elang mine, as well as 139 thousand tons of silica flux per year.

The main production of the smelter is 220 thousand tons per year of LME grade A copper cathode with a purity of 99.99 percent and 830 thousand tons per year of sulfuric acid with a purity of 98.50 percent.

Meanwhile, the main feature of precious metal refining is 987 tons per year of anode mud with the main products of 18 tons per year of gold bars with a purity of 99.99 percent, 55 tons per year of silver bars with a purity of 99.95 percent, and 77 tons per year of selenium with a purity of 99.9 percent.

Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara President Commissioner Hilmi Panigoro said the newly inaugurated smelter is one of the national strategic projects built as a tangible manifestation of the company's commitment to developing the mining industry in Indonesia.

“Hopefully, with the operation of this copper smelter, Indonesia's position in the global copper supply chain will become stronger,” Hilmi concluded.