Force majeure incidents to be considered in evaluation of export permit
Tuesday, May 23 2017 - 02:18 AM WIB
The paper said that this is stipulated under a new Ministerial Regulation No 35/2017, which is an amendment to Ministerial Regulation No 6/2017 on the mechanism and requirements in issuing recommendation permit for export of processed minerals.
According to the new regulation, the ministry?s Director General of Coal and Mineral can still provide export recommendation letter for mining firms whose smelter projects have been affected by force majeure incidents, or causes that can?t be anticipated by the miners or beyond their control.
The government in January issued a new regulation requiring mining firms to put in place commitment to develop domestic smelters as part of conditions for continuing export of mineral concentrates, low grade nickels ores and washed bauxite for the next five years. The Ministry of Trade issues the export permit, valid for a year, based on recommendation letter from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
The government, through independent auditors, will verify the domestic smelter projects every six months. Miners which fail to show significant progress of their smelter projects will risk their permit revoked.
The new regulation also stipulates that the smelter projects must have at least 90 percent progress in a particular verification period, a tough condition seen by some as deterring mining firms to apply for export permit. (*)