Mining Intelligence and News
Indonesia

SCM Mine

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Categories

Summary

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Nickel
  • Cobalt
  • Saprolite
  • Limonite
  • Iron Ore
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe SCM Mine is known for its substantial nickel resources and highgrade deposits, making it one of the largest undeveloped nickel assets in the world.

The SCM Mine is accelerating short-term production, with all permits and funding secured. Expected to support more than 25 years of operations, the SCM Mine offers flexibility in ore extraction to align with downstream processing schedules, ensuring optimised efficiency and production.

The mining segment encompasses the extraction of both saprolite nickel ore and limonite nickel ore from the SCM Mine, one of the world’s largest nickel deposits. The saprolite nickel ore is primarily used in the production of NPI, while the limonite nickel ore is designated for processing into MHP, a critical input for the EV battery supply chain.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk 25.52 % Indirect
Ownership Tree
As of December 2024, PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk holds a 50.04% ownership stake in PT Merdeka Battery Materials Tbk (MBMA). MBMA, through its subsidiary PT Merdeka Industri Mineral (MIN), holds a 51% stake in the SCM Mine.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Laterite

Summary:

The SCM Mine hosts one of the world’s largest known nickel laterite deposits, representing a significant strategic resource in the global nickel industry.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Heavy Mobile Equipment

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EV - Electric

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

Summary:

The mine exclusively supplies saprolite ore to MBMA’s RKEF smelters (CSI, BSI and ZHN) and limonite ore to the feed preparation plant (“FPP”) of HNC, located near the SCM mine. The limonite ore is then transported to the HPAL plant at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (“IMIP”) via a slurry pipeline. The SCM mine will also supply limonite ore to the PT ESG and PT Meiming HPAL plants once the FPP is complete in 2H 2025.

RKEF Smelters
BMA Group owns a 50.1% share in three fully operational RKEF smelters within Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP).

There are 2 operations and profitable RKEF Smelters, PT Cahaya Smelter Indonesia (CSID) and PT Bukit Smelter Indonesia (BSID), each capable of producing 19,000 tonnes of nickel in NPI per annum.

MBMA also has a third smelter which has been operating from the second half of 2023, PT Zhao Hui Nickel (ZHN), with a nameplate capacity of 50,000 tonnes of nickel in NPI per annum.

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Commodity Production

CommodityUnits202520242023
Saprolite M wmt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Limonite M wmt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
All production numbers are expressed as ore. ^ Guidance / Forecast.

Production Costs

CommodityUnits202520242023
Cash costs Limonite USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Cash costs Saprolite USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Mine Financials

Units20242023
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Pre-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
After-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 23, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 23, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 23, 2025

Workforce

Aerial view:

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