(Bloomberg) — Indonesia, the world’s top nickel producer, will raise production capacity of the metal after prices soared past $100,000 a ton, while the coal market is unlikely to get similar relief.
The country is set to add 393,000 tons to 400,000 tons of nickel in metal output capacity this year, bringing the total to as much as 1.4 million tons, according to Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs Luhut Panjaitan. Next year, Indonesia will add another 500,000 tons of annual production capacity, he added.
“We’re confident that with this additional capacity, there’s more than enough to offset any lost supply from Russia or other places,” Panjaitan said in a Wednesday interview in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, Indonesia will prioritize supply of coal for local power plants, with plans to increase the amount miners pay to the government — known as the royalty rate — on production of the fuel, he said. The rate will rise in tandem with market prices. The rule may be issued next month.