Vale Indonesia (INCO) Targets Full Production at Pomalaa HPAL Project in 2027
Thu 10 Sep 2026, 08:49 AM
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PT Vale Indonesia Tbk. (INCO)'s High-Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) smelter project in Pomalaa, Southeast Sulawesi, is expected to begin full operations in 2027. The smelter will have a production capacity of up to 120,000 tons of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP).
Vale Indonesia Director Muhammad Asril said that on September 15, 2026, Vale would begin trials of the smelter. All end-to-end processes at the Pomalaa HPAL facility will subsequently be tested.
Vale had initially targeted mechanical completion of the HPAL project for December 2026. However, progress to date has allowed the company to bring forward the project's completion schedule.
“We can bring it forward by around 2–3 months, allowing us to achieve mechanical completion in September or October, so we can ramp up over approximately 3–6 months. In 2027, we can begin full ramp-up and reach full production of 120,000 tons of MHP at Pomalaa,” he said at the Public Expose Live 2026 on Thursday (September 10, 2026).
For context, IGP Pomalaa is a mining and HPAL processing plant project with an investment value of US$4.5 billion. In developing the project, Vale has partnered with Chinese EV battery producer Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd. and US automaker Ford Motor Co.
The IGP Pomalaa project comprises a nickel ore mining project and a High-Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) processing project. The project's estimated annual output will reach 120,000 tons of nickel and around 15,000 tons of cobalt contained in MHP products.
“On the mining side, we have actually already started mining. The mining service company is already onsite. We are currently producing saprolite and limonite for HPAL requirements,” he said.
Vale said development of the IGP Pomalaa mine had reached 83%, while progress on the HPAL facility had reached 86%. Nevertheless, mineral ore sales have already begun, with the first ore sale carried out on February 28, 2026.
Vale has set a target of producing 300,000 tons of limonite per month, or around 9,677 tons per day.
Previously, Vale had targeted total nickel matte production of 67,645 metric tons throughout 2026. Management set the target with optimism following the completion of the Furnace III rebuild project and an improvement in the nickel grade of the ore mined by the company.
Vale Indonesia Deputy President Director Abu Ashar said the company's production in the first half of 2026 had been relatively stable. The nickel grade from mining operations was also considered the highest in the past three years.
“The repair work has been completed, the nickel grade from mining to the plant is quite good, and plant operations have also been relatively stable, so we are optimistic about achieving our annual production target of 67,645 tons this year,” he said at the Public Expose Live 2026 on Thursday (September 10, 2026).
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