Indonesia's Antam Q1 Ferronickel Output Falls

Indonesian state-owned miner PT Aneka Tambang said on Wednesday its first-quarter ferronickel output fell by 24% from a year ago on slowing demand because of the global financial crisis.
The company produced 3,296t of ferronickel in the January to March period, compared to 4,362t in the same period last year, Bimo Satryo, Antam's corporate secretary said.
"Demand for nickel is slowing," said Satryo, adding the decline was in line with a lower production target this year.
The first-quarter output was 27% of its ferronickel production target for this year of 12,000t.
In 2008, Antam produced 17,566t of ferronickel.
Nickel prices have slumped about 77% to $11,575 a tonne since hitting a record high of $51,800 in May 2007 on a drop of demand from stainless steel producers due to the global economic crisis.
Antam's gold output also fell 23.6% to 714.74kg in the first quarter of this year, compared to 935kg in the same period last year.
The company plans to produce 2,821kg this year, down from 2,980kg in 2008.
Antam, which is 65% owned by the Indonesian Government, is involved in the exploration and production of nickel ore, bauxite and iron sands as well as smelting of ferro-nickel, exploration and production and refining gold and silver.