Zirconium miners want incentive for smelting development

The association of Indonesian zirconium miners (APZI) has called on the government to provide financial incentives for investors who have been involved in development of a mining smelter, Investor Daily reported on Monday.

APZI chairman Ferry Alfiand said that the fiscal incentives would be needed to lower cost for the construction and operation of a mining smelter. ?At present, the government provided a disincentive in the form of export tax on unprocessed zirconium,? he said in a reference to the tax export imposed on unprocessed metal.

According to the association, the export tax imposed on the trade ministry on non-mineral product zirconium (Zr) on November (this month) is too high.

Under the trade minister?s regulation No. 61/2012, issued on October, zirconium is divided into two categories ? zirconium ore with export tax of US$1,556.39 per ton and zirconium silicate with export tax of $181 per ton.

However, the trade minister?s regulation no 66/2012 issued in November, export tax for zirconium is divided into four categories ? zirconium (Zr02) with content of 50 percent is subject to export tax of $1,277.79 per ton; Zr02 with content of between 50 percent and 60 percent is $1,538.57 per ton, Zr02 with content of above 60 percent is $1,708.7 per ton and ZRsio4 is $1,708.7 per ton.

The association said that the government needed to review the export tax saying that the high-content zirconium should receive lower export tax because they had been processed through a purification facility. (*)