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Hot slag flows from container trucks at a slag dumping site inside a nickel processing compound operated by PT Vale Indonesia in Sorowako, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, 28 July 2023. PT Vale Indonesia is one of the country's largest nickel producers with nickel matte production volume increased to 33,691 tons in the first half of 2023, from 26,394 tons in the same period in 2022. According to the company's release, PT Vale Indonesia and Chinese battery producer Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt plan to build a new nickel smelter site on Sulawesi island with expected production capacity of around 60.000 tons of nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) in a year. As the world's largest nickel producer, Indonesia is aiming to play an important role in energy transformation and the electric vehicle industry. Amid the legal challenge by the European Union at the WTO, the country has been banning unprocessed nickel ore exports since early 2020 to boost domestic value-added products. (Photo by Mast Irham/EPA/EFE)
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