Indonesia’s heavy equipment and mining giant PT United Tractors Tbk has agreed to acquire PT Arafura Surya Alam (ASA), a gold mining subsidiary of PT J Resources Nusantara, in a transaction valued at $540 million.
The acquisition was executed through United Tractors’s wholly owned subsidiary, PT Danusa Tambang Nusantara, marking the company’s latest move to strengthen its position in the gold mining sector, according to an announcement on Monday.
The $540-million deal, signed on September 12, 2025, covers 99.99% of ASA shares, minority stakes in ASA and its subsidiary PT Mulia Bumi Persada, and shareholder loans from J Resources Nusantara. The final value will be adjusted based on ASA’s balance sheet at closing.
ASA holds a 20-year mining business licence for production operations over a 4,000-hectare concession area located in Bolaang Mongondow Timur, North Sulawesi. The licence was issued in 2013 and remains valid through 2033.
The acquisition adds a third gold mine to United Tractors’s portfolio. The company currently operates the Martabe gold mine in South Tapanuli through PT Agincourt Resources, and a gold mine in Sumbawa through PT Sumbawa Jutaraya. As of July 2025, combined gold-equivalent sales from Martabe and Sumbawa reached 143,000 ounces, a 12% increase from the same period a year earlier.
J Resources Asia Pasifik Tbk, the parent company of J Resources Nusantara and a publicly listed gold producer on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, has been in a strategic transition. Its operations include producing assets such as the Bakan mine in North Sulawesi and the Penjom mine in Malaysia. The company also has a new mine under development, Doup, and several sites under post-mining rehabilitation.
For the first half of 2025, J Resources reported a 95.4% year-on-year increase in net profit to $19.7 million, with revenues rising 7.8% to $140.3 million. Approximately 95% of its revenue was derived from export sales, primarily to Singapore-based Metalor Technologies. The company managed to boost its gross margin significantly after reducing its cost of goods sold by nearly 15%.
United Tractors, meanwhile, is a diversified subsidiary of Astra International, with business lines spanning construction equipment distribution, mining contracting, coal and gold mining, and energy.
The company posted consolidated revenues of 68.5 trillion rupiah in the first half of 2025, up 6% from a year earlier. Net income, however, declined 15% year on year to 8.1 trillion rupiah, as weaker results in its mining contracting and coal divisions offset strong performances in the construction machinery and gold segments.
The gold and mineral mining segment delivered 60% revenue growth in the first half, in contrast to a decline of 7% and 14% in mining contracting and thermal/metallurgical coal, respectively. Heavy rainfall and falling coal prices were cited as key factors behind the weaker performance in those segments.
The acquisition of ASA is expected to help United Tractors diversify further into gold, a segment that continues to deliver strong margins amid fluctuating commodity markets. For J Resources, the divestment of ASA could provide capital flexibility as it focuses on its remaining producing and developmental assets.
