Bahlil said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the BKPM had facilitated a meeting between the Indonesian Nickel Mining Association (APNI) and the Processing and Smelting Companies Association (AP3I) to resolve their differences on the nickel ore export ban.

"The meeting concluded that [nickel] mining companies and smelting companies in Indonesia have agreed we do not want to export nickel ore beginning January 2020," Bahlil told a press briefing after the meeting at BKPM's office in Jakarta on Tuesday, accompanied by representatives from the two associations.

Bahlil said the two associations had agreed that nickel ore would be sold to local companies at the international price of US$27 to $30 per metric ton on a free-on-board basis.

Meanwhile, APNI secretary-general Meidy Katrin Lengkey said during the same briefing that nickel mining companies would support the government's efforts to develop the downstream sector.

AP3I secretary-general Haykal Hubeis said members of the association agreed with the government's decision to stop nickel ore exports and would buy the commodity at the aforementioned international price.

APNI previously opposed the export ban, while AP31 urged the government to stick to its policy to protect local smelting companies.

Prior to the meeting, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan announced on Sunday that exports would be permitted until January 2020. The government imposed a temporary ban in October amid violations of the nickel export quota.

Luhut said that once the planned permanent ban came into effect, all domestic nickel ore prices would be pegged at international prices.

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