On July 26, 2023, Merdeka Battery Materials (MBMA) suggested its battery factory currently under construction will be completed in at least the next two years.
MBMA's director Andrew Starkey said the development of the battery plant was integrated with the nickel mine. The plant uses nickel limonite refining processing technology, or high pressure acid leaching (HPAL).
HPAL Phase 1 project is expected to be completed by 2025 and will contribute around 25% of the company's EBITDA.
MBMA was officially listed on the stock exchange on April 18, 2023 following the issuance of 11 billion new shares to raise IDR 8.74 trillion. One of the main uses of the proceedings is to complete the giant HPAL nickel plant with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes, which will cost US$1.28 billion, equivalent to IDR 19.2 trillion.
By the end of 2023 Q1, MBMA's revenue was IDR 4.41 trillion with IDR 687 billion net profit.
Written by Alex Xie, xiehan@mysteel.com
Edited by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com