The Astra Group entity, PT United Tractors Tbk (UNTR) has begun to boost the gold mining segment. One of them is by preparing a gold mine in Sumbawa to operate in 2023. United Tractors Corporate Secretary Sara K. Loebis said the UNTR gold mine in Sumbawa was somewhat ready to operate, currently her party is focusing on development. "Now the focus is on infrastructure development. Production will start next year.
Its contribution will have an impact on 2024 performance," he said when met with Kontan last weekend. As a reminder, UNTR through its subsidiary, PT Pamapersada Nusantara, acquired a 75.5% stake in PT Sumbawa Jutaraya (SJR), a gold mining exploration company in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) in 2015. Sarah said that SJR's gold product would be lower than that of the Martabe gold mine, Tapanuli. It is estimated that the gold mine in Sumbawa can produce around 60,000 ounces per year. "Compared to Martabe, production is not that big.
Approximately around the level of 60,000 ounces per year, of course that will be in stages in Sumbawa," he said. In addition, Sarah explained that UNTR's Martabe gold mine which is run by PT Agincourt Resources will continue to explore to ensure the stability of gold reserves. For this year, UNTR allocated US$ 190 million from capital expenditure (capex) to develop the gold mining segment. Mainly will be used for infrastructure development. "This year the infrastructure work is bigger, in Martabe we are building a tailings storage facility," said Sarah. Just so you know, until December 2022, total sales from the Martabe gold mine reached 286,000 ounces. Realization fell 13% on an annual basis from 330,000 ounces in 2021. The decrease was due to a decrease in the level of gold mined. The net income of the gold mining business unit as of December 2022 fell by 8% to IDR 7.7 trillion.
