No export of mineral concentrates since ban takes effect: Deputy Minister
Tuesday, February 4 2014 - 01:40 AM WIB
There has been no export of mineral concentrates taking place to date since the government export ban of mineral ores took effect on January 12, according to Deputy Minister of Trade Bayu Krisnamurthi.
Bayu said on Monday that not a single miner have applied for the necessary export permit from the Ministry of Trade as miners eligible for export are required to obtain letter of recommendation from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
?Up to now, there has been no export of mineral concentrates since the export ban took effect on Jan. 12,? Bayu said.
The government implemented the long planned export ban of mineral ores in a bid to generate greater value added from mineral commodities by forcing miners to develop domestic smelters. But following eleventh-hour negotiation with some miners, the government diluted the original version of the policy, allowing six so-called mineral concentrates including copper to be sold overseas until 2017.
The miners wishing to export the concentrates, however, are required to obtain letter of recommendation from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to be able to obtain export permit from the Ministry of Trade. The six mineral concentrates are also subject to punitive progressive export tax, at 20-25 percent, and would gradually increase to 60 percent in 2016, conditions that have been protested by the miners including PT Freeport Indonesia and PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, which account for about 97 percent of the country?s copper production.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak