RECODA was invited to attend the official opening of one of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy’s (SCORE) investors, namely Sakura Ferroalloys, at Samalaju on Monday March 13, 2017.
The opening ceremony was officiated by the Right Honorable Chief Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Abang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Tun Abang Haji Openg.
Also present at the ceremony was the Honorable Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneurship Development, Trade and Investment, Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, the Honorable Minister of Public Utilities Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Anak Utom, the Honorable State Secretary of Sarawak, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani, the Honorable Deputy State Secretary, Datu Haji Ismawi Haji Ismuni, and the State Planning Unit Director, Datu Haji Mohamad Abu Bakar bin Marzuki.
During the opening, the Chief Minister noted that Samalaju is now international adding that even he was surprised that South Africa, Taiwan and Japan joint-ventured to invest in Sarawak. This he added was thanks to SCORE, the brainchild of the previous Chief Minister and current Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Sakura is a low-cost ferromanganese producer and has successfully commissioned two 81 MVA furnaces.
Both furnaces are flexible as they are designed to produce either high-carbon ferromanganese or silicomanganese.
Furnace 1 was successfully commissioned in April 2016, followed by Furnace 2 in September, with the first shipment of high-carbon ferromanganese having been exported in June 2016.
Assmang (which is jointly controlled by Assore and African Rainbow Minerals was quoted in Mining Weekly as saying, “Sakura (was built) in Malaysia largely owing to the availability of hydroelectric power. Many environmental considerations have been incorporated into this Greenfield project’s production process to reduce its impact on the surrounding areas.”
The delegation from RECODA included the Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot, the Head of Project, Mr Dawend Jiwan and Head of Environmental Management, Mr Paul Ponar Sinjeng.