PT Vale Indonesia will increase the number of days it spends on equipment maintenance to reach its target of producing 70,800 tons of matte nickel in 2024, which is slightly higher than its 2023 production plan of 70,000 tons, the director said at the Public Expose Live Press Conference in Jakarta last Wednesday.

PT Vale Indonesia is one of the nickel producers with the lowest production costs due to its three self-owned hydroelectric plants. The current nickel price reaches US$17,000 to US$16,000 per ton, while the company's costs have been below US$10,000 per ton for the past three months.

As of the third quarter of 2023, PT Vale Indonesia produced 51,640 tons of matte nickel, up from 43,900 tons in the previous quarter, while also earning a profit of US$937.9 million.

In addition, the capital invested by the company in the first nine months was much higher than in the same period last year, and the increase was mainly due to sustainability and growth capital expenditures.