Indonesia blocks export of metals and invites investors to process them
Indonesia is implementing plans in June to ban the export of bauxite, cobalt and tin as part of its strategy to extract more economic value from its rich natural resources, Arifin Tasrif, Minister of Energy and Mines, said in an interview April 15.
Indonesia is playing an increasingly important role in the energy transition with the world's largest nickel production and other large reserves of minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries and other electrification technologies.
"What we don't allow is raw material exports because these minerals are not renewable,” Tasrif told S&P Global Commodity Insights on the sidelines of the G7 climate, energy and environment ministerial meeting in Sapporo, northern Japan. “We have 270 million people, and every year there are more of them. How can we meet their needs? We must create jobs. To create jobs, we must develop projects and economic activities.”
“Although we do not allow the export of raw materials, we invite partners to work with us, create value together, and then also share the benefits.”
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The copper concentrate export ban is expected to have a significant impact on smelters in Japan and South Korea, which have become major consumers of Indonesian concentrate.
Indonesian nickel ore bans in 2014 and 2020 have attracted foreign manufacturers of stainless steel, batteries and automobiles to create a supply chain from nickel mining and smelting to batteries and even the production of electric vehicles.