Indonesia

Although Dutch explorers sampled the nickel laterite near Lake Matano on Sulawesi Island in the early 1900s, it was not until 1968 that PT Inco officially began operations in Indonesia. That was the year our subsidiary PT Inco signed a Contract of Work agreement with the Indonesian government that granted us mining rights in the provinces of South, Southeast and Central Sulawesi.

Since our arrival, PT Inco has recognized that, as a leading natural resource company in Indonesia, we have an important responsibility to take part in the economic and social development of the country.

PT Inco has shown a steadfast commitment to fulfilling this role by operating in partnership with the people of Indonesia. Our strategy has been to provide seed funding and assistance that enables individuals and groups to take ownership of their own communities. We do this in the belief that sustainable prosperity is more frequently achieved when local people have the opportunity to participate as full partners in community building.

Our contributions in community development were recognized in the spring of 2003 when the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Megawati Soekarnoputri, presented our subsidiary PT Inco with the distinguished Padma Award for excellence in community development.

"PT Inco’s reputation as an excellent corporate citizen has benefited both the people of Indonesia and our business," says Bing Tobing, Chief Executive Officer of PT Inco. "Particularly, we credit our commitment to social responsibility as a major reason why our company has continued to succeed in the challenging political, economic and social climate that exists today in Indonesia."

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In 2002 and 2003, PT Inco contributed approximately $3 million to community development to fund more than 70 programs and activities.

Education and Training

• Provided scholarships to 100 high school students, 50 undergraduate students and 10 post-graduate students.
• Provided employment opportunities for over 100 co-op and intern students at our mine and processing facilities.
• Sponsored a program to assist local communities by providing honorarium assistance for almost 600 public school teachers in remote areas.

Health

• Provided free medical treatment to 9,000 PT Inco employees and their dependants.
• Provided free as well as subsidized medical treatment to 15,000 local people who were not directly associated with PT Inco and who otherwise could not have afforded medical assistance.
• Developed public education programs to promote drug awareness as well as proper sanitation and food handling practices.
• Upgraded the Puskesmas (local community clinics) so the local people would have better medical facilities in their home communities; these clinics are still connected on a “referral basis” to the PT Inco Hospital.

Agriculture

• Continued to guarantee loans for local farmers to buy fertilizer.
• Helped poultry farmers in Wasuponda and Malili by providing credit guarantees for bank loans.
• Arranged for agriculturalists to train farmers in new techniques to raise crop yields.

Infrastructure Development

• Assisted with the construction of potable water distribution, the maintenance of street lighting and the collection of waste in the communities of Sorowako, Wawondula and Wasuponda.
• Repaired two damaged schools in the district of Towuti and built two new school buildings.
• Provided funding for the completion of four new school buildings in the district of Nuha.

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• Work with the new government of Luwu Timur and local community representatives to develop five-year development and community needs programs that meet community and PT Inco needs.
• Continue to focus on improving government and PT Inco’s medical services.
• Work to improve education services by upgrading PT Inco-run schools and working with the government to improve the facilities and the teachers in the government-run schools in the area.