Three new iron ore plants will be set up by Meratus Jaya Inc., Semeru Surya Inc., and Steel and Mandan Steel Inc. with a total investment of USD 300 million to meet increasing global demand for the product. Meratus will spend USD 60 million and Mandan will invest USD 220 million in the plants, while Sermeru will build a USD 40 million plant. All of the plants will be located in South Kailmantan province. Meratus will be the first one to plan the construction starting in November. PT Meratus Jaya, a joint venture between Aneka Tambang, Indonesia’s second largest nickel producer by value, and PT Krakatau Steel, Indonesia’s biggest steelmaker, will produce 300,000tns of sponge iron annually. PT Semeru Surya Steel will also build a sponge-iron plant, while PT Mandan Steel will make 1 million tonnes of iron billets a year at its plant. It said that all the plants will be built in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan province.
