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ix months after the implementation of a ban on mineral ore exports, the development of a number of smelters are progressing, although challenges have halted the acceleration of the work.

Sixty four smelters are under development by independent or joint mining license holders, according to data from the directorate general of mineral and coal at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

The ministry estimated the 64 ongoing smelter projects would require US$17.4 billion in investment.

Nickel smelters dominate the projects, with 30 such projects ongoing at present, followed by 13 zircon facilities, seven iron, five bauxite, four kaolin and zeolit, three manganese and two lead and zinc.

'The development of nickel smelters is faster compared to bauxite because bauxite requires more investment,' mineral and coal director general R. Sukhyar said.

Other mineral smelters, according to Sukhyar, are also less complicated.

Most smelters are scheduled to be finished next year or in 2016.

The government began the implementation of its raw material export ban on Jan. 12 in an attempt to encourage the country's downstream industry, and in compliance with the 2009 Mining Law.

The downstream policy also aims at changing the country from a raw material exporter into a value-added mineral producer, which is in the higher production chain.

The move has been criticized because building smelters requires a lot of investment.

Mining firms have also been complaining about poor supporting facilities for smelter development, particularly regarding the availability of electricity.

'The supply from PLN [state-owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara] is unstable. We can use a generator but it will be too costly for us,' said Sadman, a commissioner with PT Sumber Baja Prima, which is developing a smelter to process iron sand.

Sumber Baja Prima has a facility to process iron sand into iron pellet in Sukabumi, West Java. The company is planning to continue its work by expanding the facility to process the pellet into sponge iron.

Sadman said the company would need up to 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity when its sponge iron smelter was completed in 2016. The smelter will have a production capacity of 300,000 ton sponge iron.

PT Lumbung Mineral Sentosa, which is developing a facility to refine lead and zinc, is also facing electricity issues.

'We will need 4 MW when our refinery is in operation in 2015. We are now consuming 0.75 MW for our processing facilities. PLN has said it will be able to supply us by the time our refinery starts operation,' Lumbung's director Ricky Gowdjali said.

The full ban on raw material exports will begin in 2017, and until then, semi-finished products such as concentrate could be exported.