Government to start verifying all mining products

Novia D. Rulistia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 05/07/2008 9:39 AM

Exporters of all mining products will have to undergo a new verification process by government-appointed surveyors effective July 5, an official said Tuesday.

Diah Maulida, the Trade Ministry's director general for international trade, said the process was part of a regulation put in place by the ministry to avoid the illegal export of mining commodities.

The verification process will be conducted to check data on shipments of coal, ores and concentrates of minerals classified as strategic and vital such as copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, zinc and gold.

Also included in the verification process is a check on the commodities' mining sources as well as quality and quantity.

"The regulation aims to stop the export of illegally mined products by increasing supervision on the process and to export higher quality mining products," Diah said

She said it would also improve the accuracy of the country's export data.

At present, exporters are only required to submit export documents to the customs office.

In February last year, the ministry passed a similar regulation requiring all exporters of tin and type C mining products (except sand, soil and topsoil) to undergo the verification process.

Type C products include granite, kaolin, marble and pumice.

Diah said the new regulation was an extension of this verification process.

"Previously, mining products other than type C did not have to be verified but only reported to customs. Now all mining commodities have to be verified," she said.

She said the verification process had proved effective in increasing the export values of type C products. In 2006, exports of type C were valued at US$61.6 million from a total volume of 11,489 tons. After the verification process came into effect, it increased to $90 million from 6,019 tons.

"Although the volume is lower, the value is higher because quality is higher," Diah said.

Exports of tin in 2006 were worth $913.3 million from a total volume of 118,555 tons, but this value surged to $1.2 billion from 86,304 tons after the verification process was implemented.

The ministry has also launched a verification process for interisland shipments of palm oil in a bid to stop smuggling of the commodity.

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