Sorowako Mine
Soroako Mine
Location
Sorowako MineSoroako Mine is located in Sulawesi
Sorowako MineSoroako Mine
Sorowako Mine
Soroako Mine
ProvinceSulawesi
CountryIndonesia
Coordinates2°32′45″S 121°21′9″E / 2.54583°S 121.35250°E / -2.54583; 121.35250
Production
ProductsNickel
TypePrivate company
Owner
CompanyVale Indonesia (59.3%)

The Sorowako mine is a large mine in the east of Indonesia in the Verbeek Mountains of Sulawesi (the Celebes).[1] It lies just south of Lake Matano. As of 2023, Sorowako is one of the largest nickel mines in the world[2] with nickel reserve of an estimated 109.4 million tonnes of ore grading 1.79% nickel.[3] The 109.4 million tonnes of ore contains 1.95 million tonnes of nickel metal.[3]

History

Nickel was first discovered at Sorowako in 1901 by the Dutch missionary, ethnographer, and amateur mineralogist, Albert Kruyt.[4] In 1915, the Dutch mining engineer Eduard C. Abendanon confirmed that report.[5][6] In 1934, H. R.‘Flat’ Elves, an Inco geologist, dug test pits and did a feasibility study.[5][6]

In 1968, Inco, as PT Inco, received the mining concession in Sorowako[6] and began mapping and exploratory analysis.[7] In 1977, they opened a smelter and the following year they began commercial production in April 1978.[7][8]

In 2006 when Vale S.A. purchased Inco,[9] PT Inco (Indonesian Inco) was reorganized with changed percentages of ownership and became PT Vale (Vale Indonesia), a subsidiary of Vale S.A.[6]

Mine

The mine is an open pit surface mine.[1] The ore is disseminated nickel as fine-grained manganese-nickel silicates in a smectite complex in a laterite.[10][11] The major nickel mineral is garnierite.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Sorowako Mine (PT International Nickel mine; Soroaka Mine; Soroako Mine), Soroako (Sorowako), South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia". MinDat. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "The world's ten largest nickel mines". Mining Technology. 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Sorowako mine". Infomine. 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  4. ↑ Arif, Irwandy (2018). Nikel Indonesia (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. p. 35. ISBN 978-602-06-1935-4.
  5. 1 2 Arif 2018
  6. 1 2 3 4 Bobbette, Adam (18 August 2022). "In Sorowako". London Review of Books. Vol. 44, no. 16. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Karonsi'e Dongi people and Vale mine in Sorowako, Sulawesi, Indonesia". Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas). 20 March 2019. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "PT International Nickel Indonesia Tbk 2007 Annual Report". Vale. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Denison, Daniel R.; et al. (2012). Leading Culture Change in Global Organizations: Aligning Culture and Strategy. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass (Wiley). p. 141. ISBN 978-1-118-23510-2.
  10. 1 2 Sufriadin, Arifudin Idrus; et al. (2011). "Thermal and Infrared Studies of Garnierite from the Soroako Nickeliferous Laterite Deposit, Sulawesi, Indonesia" (PDF). Indonesian Journal of Geology. 7 (2): 77–85.
  11. ↑ Ilyas, Asran; Kashiwaya, Koki; Koike, Katsuaki (2016). "Ni grade distribution in laterite characterized from geostatistics, topography and the paleo-groundwater system in Sorowako, Indonesia". Journal of Geochemical Exploration. 165: 174–188. doi:10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.03.002.
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