WHAT WE TRADE / NICKEL ORE
Nickel ore. At the heart of a changing industry.
Indonesia’s lateritic nickel ore supplies domestic smelters and refineries serving stainless steel and battery-materials value chains. TPM connects nickel ore supply with industrial requirements, with careful attention to ore chemistry, quality and processing suitability.
INDUSTRY PHOTOGRAPHY / ILLUSTRATIVE — NOT A TPM MINE OR ASSET
4.346bn t
Nickel ore reserves · July 2020 · ESDM
11.887bn t
Nickel ore resources · July 2020 · ESDM
Laterite ore
Limonite & saprolite · distinct processing routes
01 / THE INDONESIAN LANDSCAPE
Sulawesi & Halmahera
Indonesia’s nickel ore is predominantly found in laterite deposits formed by tropical weathering of ultramafic rocks. Important mining and processing regions include Central, Southeast and South Sulawesi, alongside North Maluku. ESDM’s July 2020 geological inventory reported 4.346 billion tonnes of ore reserves and 11.887 billion tonnes of ore resources. These are historical ore-tonnage figures, not contained nickel metal and not a current reserve estimate. Resources and reserves are distinct categories and should not be added together.
02 / INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
Where the resource becomes useful.
Saprolite → stainless steel
Saprolite is generally the higher-nickel, lower-iron part of the laterite profile. Suitable ore can feed pyrometallurgical routes producing nickel pig iron or ferronickel for stainless steel. Grade and chemistry determine processing suitability.
Limonite → intermediates
Limonite is generally richer in iron and lower in nickel than saprolite. Suitable limonite can feed hydrometallurgical processing, including HPAL, to produce intermediates for further refining into battery materials. Ore itself is not battery-grade nickel.
Ore → refined products
After processing and refining, nickel can serve alloys, plating and engineering applications. These are downstream uses of recovered nickel—not direct uses of unprocessed ore. Processing route and product quality depend on the feed material.
03 / SOURCING CONSIDERATIONS
The right material starts with the right questions.
Establish nickel grade, iron, magnesium, silica, moisture and ore type before discussing a supply route. Specify whether tonnage is reported on a wet or dry basis and agree the sampling and assay procedures. Indonesia’s raw nickel ore export ban has applied since January 2020; ore supply enquiries must fit current domestic processing and trade regulations.
Let’s discuss your nickel ore requirements.
Share your application, quality parameters, destination and volume. Availability, specifications and regulatory requirements are confirmed for each enquiry.
SOURCES & DATA NOTES
The reserve and resource cards use ore tonnage reported by ESDM from its July 2020 geological inventory. The source does not specify a wet- or dry-tonnage basis for those totals, so none is assumed here. These are dated national figures, not TPM inventory or supply capacity. Contained-nickel production statistics are not ore production statistics; an annual ore-output figure is omitted until a comparable source and reporting basis are verified.