The company was founded on July 25, 1968, and carries out its operations under a Contract of Work signed with the Government of Indonesia on July 27 of the same year. This Contract of Work, which expires on March 31, 2008, empowers the company to develop and operate a mining project for nickel and other specified minerals in a stipulated area on Sulawesi island. In 1990, the company floated 49.7 million shares in an initial public offering, with the shares listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange on May 16, 1990. On January 15, 1996, the company and the government signed an Agreement for Amendment and Extension of the 1968 Contract of Work, extending the company’s concession until 2025. Under the terms of the Extension Agreement, the company agreed to a 50% expansion of the existing mining and processing facilities at Sorako to 68 thousand tons of nickel matte per annum. Included in this expansion are the construction of the fourth smelter line, modifications of existing facilities to maximize production, and construction of additional hydropower facilities. In 2000, the company reached an all-time production record of 59,200 tons, or 130.5 million pounds of nickel matte, following the completion of expansion at the end of 1999. The company has taken a decision to delist from the Surabaya Stock Exchange because of the almost complete lack of trading activity in its shares on that exchange and expects to complete this delisting process in 2001. Meanwhile, its shares continue to be traded actively on the Jakarta Stock Exchange.