Transcending mountains and seas, sharing both challenges and triumphs, a new chapter of cooperation begins. From April 27 to 28, 2026, Mr. Bernardus Irmanto, President Director & CEO of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (PTVI), along with Mr. Song Ho-jun, CEO of ECOPRO, led their delegations to visit GEM's Jingmen Circular Economy Industrial Park. Professor Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM, warmly welcomed the distinguished guests. The three parties engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as the circular economy and nickel resource challenges, exploring opportunities for strong collaboration, building a foundation of deep mutual trust, and opening a new chapter in which leading companies from China, South Korea, and Indonesia join forces to build a globally competitive nickel resource and downstream industry chain.

Figure 1: GEM executives and Indonesian students warmly welcome the delegations of PTVI CEO Mr. Bernardus Irmanto and ECOPRO CEO Mr. Song Ho-jun

Figure 2: Strategic cooperation exchange meeting among PTVI, ECOPRO, and GEM

Figure 3: Group photo of attendees at the VALE-ECOPRO-GEM Tripartite Meeting

A Powerful Tripartite Alliance to Build a New Blueprint for the Nickel Industry Chain

During the strategic cooperation exchange meeting, the three parties first viewed videos documenting the historical cooperation and interactions between PTVI and ECOPRO, as well as the latest aerial footage of the IGIP park. This allowed them to collectively reflect on the deep foundation of their cooperation and trusting friendship, while jointly envisioning a blueprint for new collaborative projects in the face of evolving global challenges. In his address, Chairman Xu Kaihua, on behalf of GEM, extended a warm welcome to the visiting guests and expressed sincere gratitude to PTVI and ECOPRO for their long-standing trust and support. "This gathering of the three parties is a critical step in addressing new global challenges in the nickel resource sector," he said. "PTVI and ECOPRO are trusted global partners of GEM—good friends and brothers. Our past collaboration has successfully overcome many challenges, with remarkable results. Notably, Mr. Bernardus Irmanto of PTVI and Chairman Lee Dong-chae of ECOPRO have personally visited the BNSI project site on multiple occasions, bringing great strength to our tripartite partnership." He pointed out that PTVI is a world-class mining company majority-owned by Indonesia, ECOPRO is a world-leading cathode material manufacturer, and GEM is a world-leading hydrometallurgical company. The partnership represents a powerful alliance between "leading nickel mining, leading hydrometallurgy, and leading cathode material manufacturing," working together to tackle new global challenges in nickel resources and build a globally competitive green nickel and downstream industry chain to meet the needs of core markets in Europe and America. Chairman Xu Kaihua firmly believes that "the BNSI project will become the most brilliant collaborative achievement among the three countries in the nickel resource and downstream industry chain in the future."

Figure 4: Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM, speaks at the tripartite strategic cooperation exchange meeting

Strengthening the Will to Cooperate and Jointly Addressing Challenges

In his remarks, Mr. Bernardus Irmanto, President Director & CEO of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk, first thanked Chairman Xu Kaihua and the GEM team for their warm hospitality. He stated that his visit to GEM had two purposes: first, to demonstrate a serious commitment to the tripartite cooperation project, expressing his firm belief that the BNSI project will become one of PTVI's best projects; second, to explore further collaboration possibilities. He candidly shared, "I have gained a great deal from this visit to GEM, especially from Professor Xu's insights on new circular economy concepts and the wisdom of Chinese philosophy. Witnessing GEM's world-class achievements in the circular economy, I am convinced that choosing to cooperate with GEM was the right decision." He further made a solemn commitment: "BNSI's problems are PTVI's problems, and BNSI's success is PTVI's success," pledging full coordination to resolve project construction challenges, accelerate project realization, and expand further cooperation opportunities.

Figure 5: Mr. Bernardus Irmanto, CEO of PTVI, speaks at the tripartite strategic cooperation exchange meeting

Focusing on Global Expansion to Build an Industrial Closed Loop

Mr. Song Ho-jun, CEO of ECOPRO, expressed his gratitude to GEM for providing a communication platform that enabled the first formal meeting between the ECOPRO and PTVI teams. He noted that ECOPRO, as a leading South Korean and world-class cathode material company, has already established a closed-loop system from recycling to cathode production. Looking ahead, ECOPRO plans to build a similar closed-loop system in Indonesia. As a major shareholder in the BNSI project, ECOPRO will work with GEM and PTVI to develop the BNSI project into ECOPRO's core global manufacturing base, supplying products to Europe, the Americas, and more regions in Asia. He expressed hope that PTVI would become an important link in this system and continue to expand industrial cooperation in Indonesia.

Figure 6: Mr. Song Ho-jun, CEO of ECOPRO, speaks at the tripartite meeting

Tracing the Path of Recycling, Experiencing the Transformation of Waste into Value

During their first visit to GEM's Jingmen Circular Economy Industrial Park, Mr. Bernardus Irmanto and his delegation were accompanied and given detailed explanations by Chairman Xu Kaihua. Following the innovative trajectory of the circular economy, the guests toured key facilities including GEM's National "Urban Mining" Museum, the National Engineering Research Center for Electronic Waste Recycling, the Spent Lithium-Ion Battery Resource Recovery Center, and the Nickel-Cobalt Resource Recovery Center, immersing themselves in the unique allure of this world-leading circular economy industrial park.

Figure 7: Mr. Bernardus Irmanto (second from right), CEO of PTVI, visits the "Urban Mining" Museum at the GEM National Circular Economy Education Demonstration Base

Figure 8: Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM, together with Mr. Bernardus Irmanto, CEO of PTVI, and Mr. Song Ho-jun, CEO of ECOPRO, pose for a group photo in front of the UN SDGs display area

Figure 9: Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM, together with Mr. Bernardus Irmanto, CEO of PTVI, and Mr. Song Ho-jun, CEO of ECOPRO, visits a class of the GEM-Indonesian Government-Central South University joint master's program and takes a group photo with some of the fourth-batch international students.

This meeting marks a strategic cooperation milestone in addressing new global challenges in the nickel resource sector, injecting strong momentum into the sustainable development of the global nickel resource and downstream industry chain. It also demonstrates the firm resolve of leading companies from China, South Korea, and Indonesia to build a globally competitive nickel resource and downstream industry chain. Going forward, GEM, PTVI, and ECOPRO will work hand in hand to advance the construction of cooperation projects in Indonesia to the highest standards, jointly building a world-class zero-carbon green nickel project!

Figure 10: A Promise Kept, A Path Shared! Group photo of Professor Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM; Mr. Bernardus Irmanto, President Director & CEO of PTVI; and Mr. Song Ho-jun, CEO of ECOPRO.

The delegation was received by Mr. Jiang Zhenkang, Special Assistant to the Chairman of GEM; Dr. Zhang Kun, Senior Deputy General Manager of GEM; Mr. Wang Qiang, Senior Deputy General Manager of GEM; and Mr. Zeng Yong, Assistant General Manager of GEM, among other GEM leaders.