Indonesia's state-owned Antam expects its nickel production to fall to between 13,000-16,000 tonnes this year because of a temporary shutdown at its third smelter, the company said on Thursday.
Cameron Tough, Antam's investor relations officer, said the contractor had shut down Antam's third smelter possibly for three months to repair a metal tap hole following a leak at the weekend.
"Contractors are responsible for repairs as the smelter is still in the trial period," Tough said.
"If the repairs go well then hopefully, we'll be able to meet the top of that range. An investigation is still underway," he said.
The company switched on the third ferro-nickel smelter in May after a month's delay from its initial target in April. The smelter has an annual capacity of around 15,000 tonnes of nickel.
The company had earlier lowered its production target this year to 19,000 tonnes of ferro-nickel, a raw material for stainless steel, from 20,000 tonnes due to delays in starting up the third smelter.
Antam also operates two smelters in Sulawesi island with a total output capacity of 11,000 tonnes.
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