MEMR to issue export recommendation for Freeport, Newmont, 3 other firms

By Bambang Atmaja

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) would issue export recommendation for five mineral mining companies including PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) and PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to the Ministry of Trade next week to allow them to resume mineral concentrate export.

Director General of Coal and Mineral R. Sukhyar said on Friday that PTFI, NNT, and the three other firms including PT Silo, PT Lumbung Mineral Sentosa and PT Daya Swasta have met the requirements set by the government including commitment to build domestic smelters.

?We will issue the export recommendation to the Ministry of Trade next week,? Sukhyar said.

Following the introduction of the mineral export ban policy in January of this year, the government set up a tough export requirements for mineral concentrates still allowed to be sold overseas until 2017. The administrative requirements include obtaining export recommendation from the MEMR, a necessary condition to get export permit from the Ministry of Trade. The concentrate producers will also be required to pay export tax, which this year has been set at 20-25 percent.

PTFI and NNT, which account for more than 90 percent of the copper concentrate output in the country, have suspended export since the issuance of the mineral export ban policy.

Elsewhere, Sukhyar was quoted by Investor Daily as saying that the ministry has also approved the work and budget plans of the mineral concentrate producers including PTFI and NNT, under which each has been allocated concentrate export volume of 1.2 million metric tons and 403,000 tons, respectively, for this year.

PTFI and NNT, however, have said recently that they have objected to the punitive export tax imposed by the Ministry of Finance.

Dede I. Suhendra, a director at MEMR, while acknowledging that the export tax issue is the authority of the Minister of Finance (MoF), his office would recommend to the MoF for the export tax of PTFI and NNT to be lowered to below 10 percent as they are committed to build domestic smelters as required by the government in the form of putting a deposit amounting to 5 percent of the smelter investment requirement.

?We proposed to the finance ministry to impose the less than 10 percent,? he said at the directorate office for mineral and coal of the MEMR on Friday.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak