COPPER SMELTER PROJECT TO BE IMPLEMENTED NEXT YEAR

The plan to establish a copper smelter in Indonesia is very likely to become a reality in the near future. Last June, in a bid to support the implementation of the planned US$ 500 million copper smelter project, the Government reduced the import duty on copper concentrate from 5% to 0%. Concentrate copper is the basic material processed by a copper smelter.

According to some recent information, the basic engineering design work on this mega project -- which was planned three years ago and was delayed several times -- has been completed. The physical work on this project