Indonesian Coal Miner to Build $728 Million Aluminum Smelter

(Nikkei Asia) — Major Indonesian coal miner Adaro Energy Tbk PT on Thursday announced a plan to invest $728 million to build an aluminum smelter and a separate initiative to develop a “new energy battery factory” in the company’s first major moves to diversify away from coal.

Rising climate pressures from investors and lenders are pushing coal miners in Indonesia — the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal — to diversify away from the commodity as efforts increase internationally to cut carbon emissions and rein in rising global temperatures.