AP3I opposes plan to relax mineral export ban
Thursday, September 8 2016 - 03:31 AM WIB
The Indonesia Processing and Refinery Companies Association (or AP3I) reiterated its call on the government not to relax the mineral ore export ban.
APEI Chairman Prihadi Santoso said that amid the lingering weak economic condition, there are certain mining firms lobbying the government to relax the current export ban policy.
He said that relaxing the export ban would be in breach of the 2009 Mining Law and would undermine the existing domestic smelter industry. He pointed out that one of the concerns is that if miners are allowed to export mineral ores, domestic smelters may face difficulties in securing raw material supply.
?We?re questioning the commitment of the government. When President (Joko Widodo) inaugurated the smelter of PT Sulawesi Mining Investment on May 30, 2015, he stressed that there will be no export permit for mineral ores, downstreaming (of the mining sector) continues,? Prihadi recalled.
Prihadi made the comments in response to plan by interim Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Luhut Panjaitan to relax the current mineral ore export ban policy, introduced by the previous government in early 2014 as mandated by the 2009 Mining Law in a bid to generate greater value for the country from its mineral commodities by pushing miners to set up domestic smelters. Progress of many smelter projects have been at a snail?s pace. Lifting the export ban would provide miners with income to complete their smelter projects, Luhut argued.
On Wednesday, IDX-listed mining firm PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) issued a statement welcoming the plan to relax the mineral ore export ban, as it would allow the company to export low grade nickel ores which can?t be processed at domestic smelters.
Meanwhile, Alexander Barus of PT Sulawesi Mining Investment, also opposed the plan to relax the mineral ore export ban policy, saying that many mining firms have spent a great deal to build domestic smelters as requested by the government. He added that relaxing the export ban policy would be in breach of the mining law.
He said that if the government decides to relax the ban, export permit must only be given to limited number of companies at a limited time, and that they must build the required domestic smelters audited by independent parties. The miners must also first fulfill the domestic requirement of mineral ores before given export permit, he added.
According to AP3I, there are 27 domestic smelters which have been in operation, 20 of which are nickel smelters, four iron smelters, and one each for aluminum, zircon, and silica.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak