(Yicai Global) June 25 -- China Baowu Steel Group, the world’s largest steelmaker, is partnering with Brazilian mining giant Vale to jointly develop a nickel project in Indonesia to supply Baowu’s stainless steel production.

The nickel pig iron project will be in Sulawesi Tengah in eastern Indonesia, Shanghai-based Baowu said via WeChat yesterday. It will build eight nickel smelting lines and other supporting facilities, and it is expected to produce 73,000 tons of nickel per year. The project will be powered by natural gas, cutting carbon emissions by 60 percent.

Baowu unit Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group, China’s largest stainless steel producer, will set up a joint venture with Xinhai Technology, a Chinese nickel resources developer, which will provide smelting technology and equipment. It will also form a project JV with Vale Indonesia.

Vale Indonesia will own 49 percent of the JV, Baowu said, without revealing the project company’s capital or the total investment in the project.

Baowu, which produced 115 million tons of steel last year, acquired Taiyuan in August 2020. The group’s stainless steel production capacity is set to reach 18 million tons by 2025, resulting in demand for nickel in the million-ton range, the firm said.

Editor: Futura Costaglione