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Indonesia maps rare earth reserves for industry goals
Rare earth elements are used in a long list of products including high-tech electronics, EV batteries and wind turbines.
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A worker in protective clothing works at a ferronickel smelter owned by PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) in Pomalaa, Central Sulawesi, in May 2019. (MIND.ID/-)
T
he government has laid out plans to map Indonesia’s rare earth element reserves as part of a wider plan to develop downstream rare earth industries.
Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Mining Director General Ridwan Djamaluddin said on Monday that the ministry had identified eight locations that contained rare earth reserves, with plans to explore more areas up until 2024.
“All eight are still in the early exploration stage,” he told House Commission VII, which oversees energy and mineral resources, at a hearing in Jakarta.
Among the eight locations are Bangka Belitung, North Sumatra and West Kalimantan with rare earth mineral reserves amounting to roughly 207,397 tons, 19,917 tons and 219 tons, respectively.
As a comparison, China, the world’s largest rare earth miner, has a total of 44 million tons of rare earth minerals reserves.
Mapping rare earth reserves is part of the government’s bigger plan to develop downstream rare earth industries with an emphasis on the defense and renewable energy industries.
Read also: Govt to develop rare earth processing
