Increase Safe and Credible Production Prices by Using a Smelter
In the mining world, there is such a thing as a smelter. So, what is a smelter? Smelter is a facility that must exist in the mining industry today. This facility helps the company to operate optimally and productively because the support of this facility enables mine production to reach a high standard level.
Mining is one of the vital sectors in Indonesia that must be considered in the process from preparation to post-mining. All require detailed control, including the provision of supporting tools so that high capital and high risk work, can be optimally produced.
What is a Smelter?
Before going into further discussion, let’s understand together what is a smelter? The use of this term absorbs the origin of the English word, namely smelting which means melting. The smelting process itself is in a metal mineral mining process.
Through the smelting process with a smelter, the metal content can be increased. When the value of the content increases, the selling value of metals will also increase among other commodities, so that consumers and producers can make profit.
This increase in metal content not only increases the selling price in the country, but also increases the selling price for export abroad. This facility has an important role in the process of separating impurities from metals or carrying out refining processes.
How Smelters Work
After understanding the definition, now it’s time to dig better into how smelters work. Generally, this tool works by ore reduction, where the result will be several important products.
The results of ore reduction can be hydrogen, active metals, and so on. In supporting the reduction process, the active substances involved depend on the type of metal being reduced. The higher the metal activity level, the more difficult the reduction process will be.
Conversely, if the level of activity is lower, the reduction process can also be easier. Examples of metals with high levels of activity are magnesium and aluminum, while metals with low levels of activity are gold and copper.
In the middle between the low and high levels, there is an intermediate level. At this intermediate level, the types of metals are tin, iron, and nickel. The process of smelting intermediate metals using a smelter is not difficult, but not easy either.
In essence, how this tool works depends on the type of metal that goes into the tool. The lower the active content, the easier the smelting process. Meanwhile, the higher the activity level, the more difficult the smelting process.
Functions and Benefits
After understanding how it works, let’s understand further what its functions and benefits are. The existence of this facility in the mining industry is not trivial because since 2012 the government has required all mining companies to have it.
No kidding, even the total government investment in the procurement of this technology reaches 20 billion dollars. The goal is that the results of production or commodities are no longer in the form of raw goods so that later product prices will increase.
When commodity prices increase, it will also benefit the state’s income or profits. We summarize the functions and benefits of using this tool in the following explanation:
- Increase sales value for minerals and metals
- Make local and international investors to inject higher investment value
- Open more job opportunities so that the number of unemployed will be decreased
- Support downstream development in Indonesia
- Help to improve human resource skills
Based on these functions and benefits, many aspects benefit from the presence of a smelter in the smelting process. It starts with benefits for the country, benefits for job seekers, benefits for consumers, and benefits for companies.
It is not surprising that the government requires smelter facilities for all mining companies. If you look at the benefits, there are many positive things that can be given through the assistance of the smelting facility.
Types of Metal Materials Requiring Smelter Process
When you already understand the following definition of how it works, now let’s understand what types of metal require smelting through a smelter. There are many types, especially since Indonesia is a country with rich natural mining resources.
Starting from metal materials with low and high levels of activity, we will mention them here. Here are the various types of metal materials that require smelting with a smelter:
- Copper
- Nickel
- Gold
- Iron
- Silver
- Manganese
- Bauxite
- Lead
Data for 2020 states that 19 facilities have been realized, of which 13 are for nickel, copper, bauxite, manganese, and iron. The data is issued directly by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
By the end of 2021, the government added 4 facilities, bringing the total to 23. The goal is to increase the mineral investment target to 5.98 billion dollars. Complete information related to smelters is required to exist in the mining world.
To support the mining sector in Indonesia, Sucofindo is one of the companies that play a major role in providing this one tool. The existence of a smelter further confirms this seriousness to help the mining sector to increase its performance.
For more information about inspection and audit services and mineral mining sector, you can read our article here. If you and your company need further information regarding our services, contact and consult about it here.
