China's Tsingshan, partners start work on Indonesia battery materials plant

Hanwa

11/01/2019 11:15

JAKARTA/BEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) - 
    * China's Tsingshan Group and partners including GEM Co Ltd
 002340.SZ  on Friday announced the start of work on a $700
million battery chemicals project in Indonesia.
    * A GEM spokesman said piling work began on Friday, while a
joint
statement said construction would start "as soon as possible
after obtaining relevant approvals".
    * A joint venture agreement on the project, situated in the
Morowali Industrial Park on the island of Sulawesi, was signed
on Sept. 28, 2018.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1WD451
    * Friday's statement gave no timeframe for the start of
production
and analysts have cast doubt on the possibility of a 2019
start-up as earlier guided by Japanese stakeholder Hanwa Co Ltd
 8078.T .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1XR4Z7 
    * "This project refines the key raw material for the
preparation
of ternary power batteries from the laterite nickel ore –
battery-grade nickel-cobalt raw materials," the statement said.
Tsingshan is Indonesia's top nickel producer.
    * The plant will produce 50,000 tonnes of nickel hydroxide
intermediates and 150,000 tonnes of battery-grade nickel
sulphate crystals annually, as well as 20,000 tonnes of cobalt
sulphate crystals and 30,000 tonnes of manganese sulphate
crystals.
    * Battery recycler Brunp, a unit of Contemporary Amperex
Technology Co Ltd  300750.SZ  (CATL), is also a partner in the
project.


 (Reporting by Fergus Jensen in JAKARTA and Tom Daly in BEIJING,
editing by Louise Heavens)
 ((fergus.jensen@thomsonreuters.com; +62 21 2992 7604; Reuters
Messaging: fergus.jensen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))