On June 8, 2024, the inauguration ceremony for the main equipment of the ESG project, the high pressure reactor (1168m³), was succesfully held at PT.QMB. Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Garibaldi Thohir, Chairman of the China Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) and Hardi Wijaya Liong, MBM shareholder representative, Rizal, Assistant Governor of Morowali, Wang Renhui, Vice President of Yongqing Group, Professor Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM, representatives of construction units and other leaders and guests, totaling more than 200 people, were invited to attend.

The ESG project managed by MERDEKA and founded by GEM, a world leader in laterite nickel ore HPAL technology, and ECOPRO, a world leader in ternary cathode materials, as well as other global downstream companies, is the first company to produce new energy materials from laterite nickel ore held by a local company in Indonesia.  The ESG project is supported by technology and engineering services by GEM, resulting in profound cooperation between Chinese technology and Indonesian resources, specifically in producing ternary battery raw materials, MHP, nickle cobalt manganese oxide, high-nickel ternary precursors, and ternary cathode materials, as well as establishing an entire industry chain from Indonesia's nickel resources to new energy materials manufacturing. Promoted by Mr. Luhut, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs in Indonesia and Mr. Garibaldi Thohir, Chairman of the China Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the ESG project was officially signed on October 16, 2023 in Beijing witnessed by Mr. Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, with the project design and foundation construction of all core processes having been completed in just 8 months, resulting in the project having entered into the core equipment installation stage. In September of this year, the project will start to operate, which will be the case of the world's fastest laterite nickel mine HPAL project construction, creating a new speed in the cooperation between Chinese and Indonesian enterprises.

During the event, Mr. Garibaldi Thohir delivered his speech. He expressed his gratitude to Professor Xu Kaihua and the GEM team for their hard work and technical support, which has been a success factor in the rapid development of the ESG program. He said that he will continue to monitor the smooth launch of the ESG program in the fourth quarter and look forward to working with our partners to become a leader in the electric vehicle value chain for the global energy transition!

In the speech, Prof. Xu Kaihua expressed his gratitude to the Indonesian government for the conducive investment environment, and especially expressed his gratitude to Minister Luhut of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment for his strong support! Expressing deep gratitude to Mr. Garibaldi Thohir and Mr. Winato Kartono, Chairman of MERDEKA, for their trust and support, and to Mr. Xiang Guangda, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tsingshan, and IMIP for their strong support, and strongly affirming that the GEM team and the teams of various construction units of the ESG project created a new global speed in the construction of the nickel laterite HPAL project with the spirit of fighting day and night. He remarked that the placement of the high-pressure reactor and the key equipment of this ESG project marks a great success of the cooperation between Chinese engineering technology and local enterprises in Indonesia, which means that the first nickel resource production new energy material project managed by local enterprises in Indonesia's history has moved from the basic construction stage to the rapid construction stage of equipment installation. The ESG project took only 8 months from the start of design to the completion of all the core processes of infrastructure construction, representing the joint efforts of the GEM and MERDEKA teams, and realizing the construction speed and depth of cooperation similar to the Jakarta Bandung High Speed Rail. He emphasized that the 1168m³ high-pressure reactor used is one of the largest HPAL reactors in the world, with a capacity of more than 25,000 tons of nickel metal/year, it represents the most advanced equipment technology and the most efficient HPAL technology. Prof. Xu hopes to build a high-tech ESG project with the design concept of “green mining, green production, green products” with “technology + intelligence + green”, to effectively promote the change from stainless steel smelting to smelting new energy materials, realize the industrial ideal of “Incorporating nickel laterite and refining new energy materials”, and drive Indonesia's nickel industry towards a new energy era!

At the event, the leaders and guests cut the ribbon.

Peng Yaguang, Deputy General Manager of GEM and General Manager of QMB, and management of QMB attended the inauguration ceremony.

Group photo of guests attending the inauguration ceremony of ESG project's main equipment, high pressure reactor (1168m³)

Speech by Mr. Garibaldi Thohir, Chairman of China Committee of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and MBM Shareholder Representative

Speech by Prof. Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM

Ribbon cutting ceremony for the inauguration of high-pressure reactor (1168m³), the key equipment of ESG project