Published on August 12, 2025, by Bloomberg Technoz
By Azura Yumna Ramadani Purnama
Bloomberg Technoz, Jakarta – The Indonesian Nickel Miners Association (APNI) said Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency (BPI Danantara) has the opportunity to form a consortium with a Chinese company to acquire PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI)’s nickel smelter.
APNI Mining Advisory Board Member Djoko Widajatno said the news on Danantara acquiring GNI smelter is still in development. He said Danantara is still waiting for a green light from the authorities and the due diligence process.
“This process is currently in evaluation and due diligence phase, with plans to collaborate with MIND ID, the parent company of a state-owned mining company, as the main partner in the acquisition,” Djoko said when contacted on Tuesday (August 12, 2025).
Djoko also believes there is a possibility that Danantara will collaborate with a Chinese company, as the GNI acquisition is expected to be quite expensive. However, he has not received any updates on funding negotiations from the financial consortium.
“For the time being, that’s all [the information] we had; a consortium from China to collaborate with Danantara is a possibility,” Djoko said.
According to Djoko, Danantara will prepare a preliminary funding around US$20 billion to acquire GNI.
Besides coming from Danantara, Djoko said, the funding will come from a US$60 million syndicated loan to support a mid-term liquidity.
“As of now, PT GNI remains under Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co., a Chinese parent company,” he said.
A Danantara representative did not give response when asked for confirmation.
Production Halt
Separately, Djoko explained that PT GNI has more than 20 lines of nickel pig iron production (NPI) for stainless steel raw material.
Still, almost all the production lines have been offline since early 2024 and only “some lines are still running”.
“It is estimated that more than 15 production lines [of GNI] have been stopped, potentially close to a total shutdown,” Djoko said when contacted in July.
According to Director General of Metal, Machine, Transportation, and Electronics Industries at the Ministry of Industry Setia Diarta, the subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Jiangsu Delong is still waiting to have a scheduled meeting with its creditors to get a fresh funding.
“GNI is currently waiting for its creditors’ meeting schedule which could be in August. That the update we received,” Setia told Bloomberg Technoz when asked for confirmation recently.
Until the funding process with the new investor is complete, Setia emphasized that PT GNI remains a subsidiary of Jiangsu Delong, which has been facing financial issues in its home country of China since last year.
BPI Danantara Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rosan Roeslani previously confirmed that he is open to acquiring the PT GNI smelter, which is part of the National Strategic Project (PSN) for nickel downstreaming. The investment plan is currently under review.
Rosan stated that Danantara is indeed considering investing in similar downstream projects. If the smelter owned by the Jiangsu Delong subsidiary meets the investment criteria, he emphasized, Danantara could invest in PT GNI.
“There are several projects in the pipeline that we are considering. We will see which ones are feasible and good, so we will review them all,” Rosan said at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Tuesday (July 22, 2025).
The GNI smelter is included in the National National Project (PSN) based on Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Regulation Number 7 of 2021, and is part of a joint project with PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry (VDNI), a subsidiary of Jiangsu Delong.
PT GNI’s operations are located in Bunta Village, Petasia Timur District, North Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi. Using pyrometallurgical technology, also known as rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF), the GNI smelter has a production capacity of 1.9 million NPI per year.
In addition, the company produces ferronickel, which is then processed into raw materials used in stainless steel and the nickel alloy industry.
PT GNI also collaborates with PT Aneka Tambang Tbk. (ANTM), a member of the state-owned mining holding company, PT Mineral Industri Indonesia (MIND ID).
The collaboration was carried out through a preliminary agreement or heads of agreement (HoA) between the two companies and another company, Alchemist Metal Industry Pte Ltd, in May 2021, namely for the development of a smelter business in the North Konawe and North Morowali areas.