Antara News Agency reported that PT International Nickel Indonesia has cancelled plans to build a nickel smelter in Pomalaa, Southeast Sulawesi where it has large nickel mines.
Mr Jannus T Siahaan chief spokesman of the subsidiary of Inco Limited said that feasibility studies by a number of independent consultants show that the project is not feasible commercially. He added that Inco has reported the decision to the Energy & Mineral Resources Ministry.

The project, proposed to the government by Inco in April 2008, was to have a processing capacity of 30,000 tonnes of nickel ore a year.

Earlier a government official said that Inco is required to build a smelter in Pomalaa and the smelter has to be operational in 2013. If the project with an estimated cost of USD 2 billion is not feasible, Inco should make it feasible by cutting the cost and reducing the size of the project.

(Sourced from Antara News)