JAKARTA (Reuters) – A fire broke out at an Indonesian nickel smelting facility on Halmahera island, injuring six workers, who were evacuated and receiving intensive care, operator PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) said on Wednesday.
The fire started on Tuesday and was since under control, an IWIP representative said in a statement.
“In the coming days, an investigation (for the cause of the fire) and repair will take place,” the statement said.
The fire affected only one of the 23 nickel smelting lines at the Weda Bay facility, the company said, and remaining lines continue to operate normally.
The industrial park is one of Indonesia’s national strategic projects, designed to expand its nickel processing capacity at home after the country banned exports of unprocessed ore.
The park operator is a joint venture between Tsingshan, Huayou Cobalt Co., and Zhenshi Holding Group.
(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Martin Petty)
