TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Association questions Freeport’s permit extension
The Indonesian Coal and Mineral Energy Suppliers Association (Aspebindo) has said the extension of PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PTFI) copper ore export permit is a setback for downstream industry development.
Change Size
Indonesian Coal and Mineral Energy Suppliers Association (Aspebindo) vice chairman Fathul Nugroho speaks at the association’s national meeting on May 10, 2023. (ASPEBINDO/ASPEBINDO)
T
he government’s plan to extend PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PTFI) copper ore export permit sends the wrong signal to the company and is a setback for downstream industry development, says the Indonesian Coal and Mineral Energy Suppliers Association (Aspebindo).
The association has asked the government to be more assertive in implementing regulations to increase the value of natural resources, including enforcing a ban on raw mineral exports.
Aspebindo vice chairman Fathul Nugroho said the extension could lead to a “loss of opportunities for Indonesia to obtain greater economic benefits from these minerals, and also reduces incentives to develop downstream industries that are more environmentally friendly and high-value.”
Read also: Govt plan to increase Freeport stake ‘unnecessary’, expert says
The 2020 Mining Law mandates a ban on unprocessed copper exports starting in June 2023, following a similar policy on nickel and bauxite ores, materials that are required in domestic smelters.
The nickel ore export ban implemented in 2020 has attracted huge investment into ore processing, much of it from China.
Many Chinese companies have invested in refining facilities that process materials extracted from nickel ore to be used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
