MEMR delays export recommendation for Freeport, other firms
Tuesday, May 6 2014 - 05:02 AM WIB
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) failed to fulfill its promise to issue the necessary export recommendation letters for PT Freeport Indonesia and four other mining firms by April.
Director General of Coal and Mineral at the ministry, R. Sukhyar said that the evaluation process to determine whether the firms have met the necessary requirements turned out to be more difficult than initially anticipated.
?Because it is dynamic. Actually, evaluating them (the compliance of the firms in meeting the requirements) is not as easy as we have thought,? said Sukhyar on Monday.
Sukhyar said on April 11 that the ministry was set to issue the export recommendation letter within a week time for PT Freeport, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, PT Sebuku Iron Ore, PT Daya Swasta, and PT Lumbung Mineral Sentosa, to allow them to resume mineral concentrate export, which have been suspended since January 12 of this year after the government introduced a mineral ore export ban policy and tighter export restrictions, under which companies still allowed to export mineral concentrates until 2017 will have to obtain export recommendation letter from the MEMR in order for the Ministry of Trade to issue export approval.
Among of the requirements to be able to obtain the export recommendation letter is for the companies to put a deposit within the government?s account to show their seriousness in building the necessary domestic smelters. The so-called smelter guarantee funds is set at 5 percent of the total investment requirement for the smelter.
Elsewhere, Sukhyar made another promise that the ministry is set to conclude the evaluation process and issue the export recommendation letters this week.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak