PT Merdeka Battery Materials Tbk (MBM) operates a nickel mine and smelting plants integrated with a nickel industrial zone in Central and Southeast Sulawesi. Since its initial public offering (MBMA) in April 2023, raising IDR 9.2 trillion, MBM has grown into one of the world’s leading suppliers of raw materials for electric vehicle batteries.
MBM’s raw materials come from the Sulawesi Cahaya Mineral (SCM) Mine in Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi; one of the world’s largest resources in terms of contained nickel which holds approximately 13.8 million tons of nickel and 1.0 million tons of cobalt across a 21,100-hectare area. The mine produces and supplies two types of ore: saprolite and limonite.
Saprolite ore is sent to three RKEF (Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace) smelters at Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), Central Sulawesi, where it is processed into Nickel Pig Iron (NPI). The NPI is then converted into high-grade nickel matte (HGNM) at PT Huaneng Metal Industry (HNMI), a nickel converter plant acquired by MBM in 2023.
Limonite ore from the SCM Mine is processed at the Feed Preparation Plant (FPP) of PT Huayue Nickel Cobalt (HNC) and transported via pipeline to the High-Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) plant at IMIP.
MBM is currently developing several HPAL plants to produce nickel in the form of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a key raw material for electric vehicle batteries. In partnership with GEM Co, MBM has established PT ESG New Energy Material (PT ESG) and PT Meiming New Energy Material (PT Meiming), with annual production capacities of 30,000 tons and 25,000 tons of nickel MHP, respectively. Both are expected to commence production in the first half of 2025.
MBM is also developing a third HPAL plant at IMIP operated by PT Sulawesi Nickel Cobalt (SLNC), a nameplate capacity of 90,000 tons of nickel MHP which will be operational by mid 2026.
MBM has also partnered with Brunp CATL to construct the CATL HPAL Plant, which will have an annual capacity of 60,000 tons of nickel MHP and be located at Indonesia Konawe Industrial Park (IKIP), a new 3,500-hectare industrial area within the SCM Mine concession.
In the broader mineral processing sector, MBM holds an 80% stake in PT Merdeka Tsingshan Indonesia (MTI), which operates the AIM (Acid, Iron, Metal) Plant at IMIP. This facility is designed to process 1 million tons of pyrite ore per year from the Wetar Copper Mine through four interconnected production units.
The Pyrite Plant produces pyrite concentrate, which is then processed at the Acid Plant into sulfuric acid and saturated steam to support MHP production at the HPAL Plant; and calcine, which is processed at the Chloride Plant into gypsum, iron ore pellets, and lead-zinc hydroxide; as well as gold mud and copper sponge, which are processed at the Copper Cathode Plant into gold and silver doré, as well as copper cathodes.
The development is progressing in stages. The Pyrite Plant and Acid Plant have been operational since 2024, while the remaining two plants are currently in the commissioning phase.
