Government cancels plan to lift export ban on nickel ores

The government has decided to cancel an earlier plan to allow the export of low grade nickel ores after learning that the ores can be processed at domestic smelters, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.

This was said by interim Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Luhut Panjaitan. ?We no longer need to export (the low grade nickel ores),? he said, adding that the ministry was currently assessing which mineral ores would be allowed for export under the planned relaxation of the mineral ores export ban policy.

Luhut said last month that the ministry was considering to allow the export of nickel ores with purity of less than 1.8 percent such as those produced by IDX-listed mining firm PT Aneka Tambang Tbk as it can?t be processed at domestic smelters. But President Director of IDX-listed mining firm PT Vale Indonesia Tbk said that its smelter can process the low grade nickel ores.

The government is currently finalizing a revision of Government Regulation No 1/2014, which would allow mineral ore concentrates such copper concentrates produced by giants including PT Freeport Indonesia and PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara to be exported for the next five years. Under the current GR No 1, mineral concentrates can no longer be exported after January 12, 2017.

The previous government introduced a ban on the export of mineral ores including nickel in early 2014, but allowed the export of mineral concentrates until January 2017, by which time companies such as PT Freeport and PT Newmont were expected to have already completed the required domestic smelter. However, construction of the required smelters have yet to be completed, thus the need to revise GR No 1/2014. The current government expects the smelters to be completed in five years. (*)