President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has announced that he will ban the export of raw bauxite minerals starting in June 2023. This is also in line with Law No.3 of 2020 concerning Mineral and Coal Mining (Minerba Law).Based on the Mineral and Coal Law, no later than June 10, 2023, the export of raw minerals is officially prohibited. The mineral products that are allowed to be exported are those that have gone through the processing and refining process or downstream first in the country.So, what about PT Freeport Indonesia, which is currently still exporting copper concentrate? What about the progress of the construction of its new smelter in Gresik, East Java?President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) Tony Wenas said that his party is currently speeding up the completion of the construction of its new copper processing and refining facility (smelter) located in the JIIPE industrial area, Gresik, East Java.Tony said, until the end of November 2022, the progress of smelter construction had reached 47.4%. And by the end of this year, according to him, the development progress can reach 50%."This progress is now 47.4% by the end of November, it is expected that by the end of this year in 10 days it can reach 50%," he said in CNBC Indonesia's Mining Zone program, quoted on Friday (23/12/2022).He also said that by the end of 2023 the physical construction progress of this smelter has been completed, then it will be continued with a trial or commissioning test. And in May 2024 this copper smelter can be operated commercially."At the end of 2023, the physical construction mechanical completion has been completed, we just need to commission until May 2024, we have started production," he said.As is known, the beginning of the construction of the new Freeport smelter was carried out in October 2021 which was also witnessed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi).The smelter with an investment value of US$ 3 billion or around Rp. 45 trillion is said to be the largest single-line smelter in the world. The new smelter will process 1.7 million tons of copper concentrate per year into a product of 600 thousand tons of copper cathodes per year.Currently, PTFI also has one smelter that has been operating - also located in Gresik. The company cooperated with Mitsubishi to form PT Smelting. The PT Smelting smelter, which has been built since 1996, produces 300 thousand tons of copper cathodes from the processed products of around 1 million tons of copper concentrate per year.PTFI's share ownership in PT Smelting is currently only 40%. Nevertheless, the company plans to increase its shareholding to 66%.The addition of shares is because PT Smelting is now also in the process of expanding or increasing capacity.Based on the company's report, PTFI has spoken to PT Smelting's majority shareholder, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (MMC), for the expansion project. The increase in capacity at the existing smelter is planned to increase by 30% or around 300 thousand tons of concentrate per year.Thus, PT Smelting's copper concentrate processing capacity will increase to 1.3 million tons from the current 1 million tons per year.Image source: Tangkapan Layar Youtube Sekretariat PresidenSource: https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20221223141004-4-399608/di-tengah-larangan-ekspor-freeport-kebut-pembangunan-smelter

The government still has homework to make the downstream program a success. Chairman of the Indonesian Mining Experts Association (Perhapi) Rizal Kasli said, there are no commodities that are 100% ready to be stopped from exporting in the context of downstreaming.For this reason, the government, according to Rizal, needs to encourage further industrial development to manufacturing in Indonesia."The strategy that can be done can be by special assignment to certain SOEs that are formed for it as a pioneer industry. This needs to be done if the private sector is not interested in it," Rizal told Kontan.co.id (22/12).Another challenge is that there are also licensing issues that need to be addressed to encourage industrial development."Another thing that the government must help is the issue of licensing that is still felt to be too long, such as amdal, and others. There are so many permits that must be taken care of both at the center and in the regions. This will be a handicap for the development of national industry," explained Rizal.As is known, the government is strengthening the downstream sector. This effort has previously given birth to a policy of banning the export of nickel ore which has been in effect since January 2020.Following this, the export ban is also planned to apply to bauxite ore in June 2023, as well as to other mineral commodities.President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the government is still calculating which other commodities will follow to stop exporting raw materials. He emphasized that the export ban does not have to wait for the commodity industry to be fully prepared."For other commodities, it is calculated to calculate the readiness of the industry. Once the industry is half ready, we don't have to be ready, half ready, we immediately stop it. We are forced to solve the industry immediately," said Jokowi in a Press Statement, Wednesday (21/12).At the same time, the government is also overseeing the development of the mineral processing and refining industry. Based on data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), until the end of December 2021, 21 mineral refining facilities have been completed, consisting of 15 Nickel mineral refining facilities, 2 Bauxite mineral refining facilities, 1 Iron mineral refining facility, 2 Copper mineral refining facilities, and 1 Manganese mineral refining facility.In 2022, there are 7 more new smelter projects scheduled to operate. Two of them are smelters that are integrated with mining activities, namely the East Halmahera Ferronickel (P3FH) plant of PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTM) located in North Maluku, and the smelter owned by PT Sebuku Iron Lateritic Ores (SILO) in South Kalimantan.Meanwhile, the other five smelters are stand-alone smelters. The five include a smelter with Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) products of PT Smelter Nickel Indonesia in Banten, a lead bullion smelter of PT Kapuas Prima Citra in Central Kalimantan, a Zinc Ingot smelter of PT Kobar Lamandau Mineral in Central Kalimantan, an alumina grade smelter of PT Well Harvest Winning AR (Phase II) in West Kalimantan, and a Pig Iron smelter of PT Alchemist Metal Industry in North Maluku.Image source: PERHAPISource: https://industri.kontan.co.id/news/sukseskan-hilirisasi-mineral-perhapi-pemerintah-perlu-bangun-industri-lanjutan

PT United Tractors Tbk (UNTR) has achieved heavy equipment sales growth. Where the company reported sales of Komatsu brand heavy equipment as many as 5,457 units as of November 2022, growing 84.98% compared to the January-November 2021 period of 2,950 units.Komatsu's sales in October 2022 amounted to 370 units, down from the realization of sales in October 2022 which reached 553 units. As in previous months, sales to the mining sector in November 2022 still dominated with a contribution of 63%.Then followed by the construction sector 23%, agribusiness 10% and forestry 4%. Cumulatively from January to November 2022, sales to the mining sector reached 61%, construction 19%, agribusiness 9% and forestry 11%.Komatsu's market share year to date as of November is at 28%. From the coal contractor segment, UNTR through Pamapersada Nusantara (PAMA) has produced 105.2 million tons throughout the 11-month period of 2022.This realization is lower than the production from January to November 2021 which reached 107.3 million tons. UNTR coal sales through Tuah Turangga Agung in November 2022 reached 645,000 tons, down from October 2022 of 733,000 tons.Throughout 2022 until November, UNTR's accumulated coal sales reached 9.15 million tons, up from the same period last year of 8.48 million tons. For gold commodities, UNTR reported Agincourt Resources sold 24,000 ounces of gold during November 2022. This volume is still the same compared to October 2022. During January-November 2022, total gold sales reached 263,492 GEOs, lower than last year's 307,327 GEOs.The company recorded net revenue in the third quarter of 2022 of IDR 91.5 trillion. An increase of 58% compared to the same period last year of IDR 57.82 trillion. All business units contributed to this achievement.To be precise, construction machinery is 30%, mining contractors are 36%, coal mining is 27%, gold mining is 6%, and the construction industry is 1% of the total consolidated net income. In detail, the coal mining business line rose 138% to IDR 24.36 trillion.The construction machinery business line recorded a growth of 74% to Rp27.4 trillion. Furthermore, the mining contractor business line recorded revenue of IDR 33.2 trillion, or an increase of 37% from the same period last year. United Tractors recorded profit after tax or net profit of IDR 15.9 trillion, up 103% from the same period last year of IDR 7.8 trillion.Net income per share rose 104% to Rp4,283 from the same period last year of Rp2,096. Total assets skyrocketed 25% to Rp140 trillion from the same edition in the year of Rp112 trillion. Total liabilities of IDR 56.39 trillion, a surplus of 38% from the same period last year of IDR 40.73 trillion.Image source: United TractorsSource: https://economy.okezone.com/read/2022/12/26/278/2734297/penjualan-alat-berat-united-tractors-untr-naik-84-98?page=2

A subsidiary of PT Indika Energy Tbk (INDY), namely PT Kideco Jaya Agung (Kideco), has applied for a contract extension to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM).Currently, the holder of the Coal Mining Concession Work Agreement (PKP2B), which will expire on March 13, 2023, is waiting for the results of the evaluation of the contract extension application."Kideco's contract will expire on March 13, 2023. Currently, Kideco has applied for an extension to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources," INDY's Head of Corporate Communications, Ricky Fernando told Kontan.co.id, Thursday (22/12).As is known, the Contract of Work (KK) and PKP2B are given a guarantee of extension to a Special Mining Business Permit (IUPK) as a Continuation of the Operation of the Agreement Contract after fulfilling the requirements.This is contained in Article 169 A of the Mining Law (minerals and coal) which is currently in force, namely Law Number 3 of 2020.Currently, the total area of the Kideco concession is 47,000 hectares (Ha) with an operational area of about 15 thousand Ha. It has not been found out, how much kideco land area after the contract extension will be."Currently, Kideco has applied for a contract extension where a review of the land area will be included," explained Ricky.Arguably, Kideco has played an important role in sustaining INDY's performance in recent years. During January-September 2022, for example, the coal company whose shares are 91% owned by INDY (data September 30, 2022) contributed revenue of US$ 2.21 billion, equivalent to around 70% of INDY's consolidated revenue in the period which amounted to US$ 3.13 billion.Understandably, in terms of operational performance, Kideco is indeed one of the main pillars of INDY's coal production performance, as is the case in 2022.Just so you know, based on Kontan.co.id records, INDY is pursuing a coal production target of around 35.8 million tons. According to the plan, as many as 34 million tons of which will come from Kideco, while the remaining 1.8 million tons will come from PT Multi Tambangjaya Utama (MUTU).In addition to applying for a contract extension, Kideco has also taken steps to carry out production activities next year. Ricky said, Kideco had submitted a Work Plan and Cost Budget (RKAB) to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources."Kideco's production plan is still waiting for approval from the RKAB, but it is expected to be around 31 - 34 million tons," said Ricky.A little information, the performance of Kideco's main top line and bottom line, namely INDY, is compact uphill in the first nine months of 2022.INDY's interim financial report shows that INDY's consolidated revenue increased by 57.15% on an annual basis or year-on-year (YoY) from US$ 1.99 billion in January-September 2021 to US$ 3.13 billion in January-September 2022.According to the climbing revenue, INDY managed to book a profit for the current period attributable to owners of the parent entity aka net profit of US$ 338.39 million in January-September 2022.Previously, INDY posted a loss for the current period attributable to owners of the parent entity aka a net loss of US$ 5.95 million in January-September 2021.Image source: ANTARA FOTO/Nova Wahyudi/nymSource: https://industri.kontan.co.id/news/kideco-jaya-agung-kideco-ajukan-perpanjangan-kontrak-ke-kementerian-esdm

PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) has appointed Black & Veatch to design and manage the delivery of a seawater desalination plant for its Manyar Smelter in East Java, Indonesia, as part of its sustainable development commitments.The seawater desalination plant will support the processing of mine concentrates from the Grasberg mine in West Papua. The new domestic copper smelter and refinery supports Indonesia’s downstreaming strategy to further refine the processed mine concentrates and brings additional economic value to the local community and Indonesia.“Reducing water consumption is critical to our sustainable development commitments. Using alternative water supplies is key to resource conservation. Black & Veatch’s extensive experience with alternative water technologies helps position us for continued sustainable business growth,” said Horst-Dieter Garz, Executive Vice President, Corporate Planning and Business Strategy, PTFI.Black & Veatch, in collaboration with its joint operating agreement (JOA) partner PT Wika, will perform the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning responsibilities for the seawater desalination plant.“The mining industry plays a critical role in the global shift to a decarbonized and sustainable future. Accessing water from the ocean saves freshwater resources for the local community and ecosystems and ensures a more sustainable, resilient and reliable water future. It also improves efficiencies and reduces operational risks and downtime that affect business profitability,” said Narsingh Chaudhary (pictured), Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Black & Veatch. The seawater desalination plant will be located adjacent to the Manyar Smelter Project. It will produce over 1,400 m3/h of desalinated seawater to support the copper smelter and precious metals refinery. Designed to process 1.7 Mt/y of copper concentrate, the $3 billion Manyar Smelter is anticipated to be the world’s largest designed single line copper processing facility.BHP previously hired Black & Veatch to serve as designer and engineer of record on the Escondida Water Supply Expansion (EWSE) project at its Minera Escondida mine in Chile. The project supplies the world’s largest copper mine with 100% desalinated water, removing the need for groundwater.Image source; PT Freeport IndonesiaSource: https://im-mining.com/2022/12/22/black-veatch-to-design-and-deliver-desal-plant-for-freeport-indonesias-manyar-smelter/

PT PLN (Persero) ensures that the operation of the Suralaya steam power plant (PLTU) in Cilegon, Banten during the Christmas and New Year (Nataru) 2023 holiday period is safe. The readiness is because the primary energy supply has been met for up to 30 days of operation (HOP).During his visit to PLTU Suralaya, Sunday (25/12/2022), the Minister of Energy Resources and Minerals (ESDM), Arifin Tasrif, represented by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Rida Mulyana, ensured that the energy supply for the community in this Nataru moment was guaranteed.Moreover, according to Rida, PLTU Suralaya in particular is one of the backbones of the Java Madura and Bali (Jamali) electricity system. The reliability of primary energy supply for plant operations is one of the keys to the safety of electricity availability today."Its significant role is for the Jamali system so we ensure that the supply chain starts from primary energy to the readiness of its operators to the provision of electricity to the community, we can ensure that it is achieved," said Rida in a press statement, Monday (26/12/2022).Also present at the visit were PLT Director General of Electricity of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dadan Kusdiana, Director of Generation of PLN, Adi Lumakso and President Director of PLN Indonesia Power, Edwin Nugraha Putra.On a different occasion, President Director of PT PLN (Persero) Darmawan Prasodjo said he was optimistic that the plant with a total capacity of 3,400 megawatts (MW) could operate to meet the electricity needs of the Jamali system during Nataru 2023. With this capacity, the Suralaya power plant supplies around 12% of the electricity needs in the Jamali system, so this power plant has a vital role for Jamali's electricity."If Nataru last year the condition of coal supply in Suralaya was a bit critical, this year is very good, and it has become the best HOP in history. This achievement is the fruit of collaboration between the Government, PLN and all stakeholders," said Darmawan.In Nataru 2022, the condition of coal supply at the Suralaya power plant was in a crisis point with a HOP of less than 7 days. Meanwhile, in Nataru 2023, coal supply reaches 30 HOP.According to Darmawan, this achievement is the result of PLN's efforts together with the Government and stakeholders in the domestic coal industry, always synergizing and coordinating to make efforts to ensure the availability of primary energy is met.In terms of supervision, since the beginning of 2022, PLN has made a paradigm shift in monitoring and controlling coal supply. Originally, supervision only focused on the estimated time of arrival (ETA) now it has become focused on the loading point.Supervision steps are carried out not only through physical in the field but also by integrating the digital monitoring system between the PLN system and the system at the Directorate General of Minerals and Coal of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. This system provides information on loading targets and is integrated with the system at the Directorate General of Minerals and Coal of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources which records the realization of loading from each supplier."With a system like this, if there is a potential supply failure due to the availability of coal and its transportation fleet, it will be detected earlier. Not only that, corrective action can be carried out as early as possible so that certainty of supply can be better maintained," concluded Darmawan.Image source: PT PLNSource: https://investor.id/business/317410/stok-batu-bara-aman-pln-pastikan-operasional-pltu-suralaya-selama-libur-nataru

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday confirmed an export ban for bauxite starting in June next year as scheduled, to encourage domestic processing of a material used as the main ore source of aluminum.The resource-rich nation has surprised markets with its commodity exports policies, including brief but controversial bans earlier this year on shipments of palm oil and coal, of which Indonesia is the world’s biggest exporter.It is also among the world’s top suppliers of bauxite, with China its key buyer. The timing of Indonesia’s ban, however, is in line with its current mining law.The president said the bauxite ban aimed to replicate Indonesia’s success in developing its nickel processing capacity after halting exports of its raw form in January 2020, which enticed foreign investors, mostly from China, to build local smelters.The measure, which led to a dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO), also helped boost the value of Indonesia’s exports.“The government will remain consistent in implementing downstreaming so the value add can be enjoyed domestically for the country’s development and people’s welfare,” said Widodo, who is popularly known as Jokowi, emphasizing the importance of jobs creation.China was the biggest importer of Indonesia’s bauxite until Jakarta introduced a mineral export ban in 2014, which it lifted in 2017.According to Wen Xianjun, a former head of the aluminum department at the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, Indonesia’s 2014 ban prompted China to boost its efforts to develop aluminum resources in Africa instead.“Compared with then, China’s imports of bauxite are more diversified now,” Wen said.China imported 17.8 million tonnes of Indonesian bauxite in 2021, and 17.98 million tonnes in the first 11 months this year, about 15.6% of its total imports, according to customs data.The three-month aluminum futures contract on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.6% at $2,386.50 a tonne by 0530 GMT, while the most-traded aluminum contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 0.2% to 18,595 yuan a tonne.The announcement by Indonesia is not expected to have significant impact on prices.“It won’t cause any major supply headwind as Indonesia now only accounts for a relatively small share of China’s supply, Guinea and Australia will immediately make up the lost volume (after the ban),” an aluminum trader at a large trading house in China said.Indonesia has four bauxite processing facilities with 4.3 million tonnes of alumina output capacity, while more are under construction with collective capacity of nearly 5 million tonnes, said chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto.Indonesia’s bauxite reserves are enough for up to 100 years production, he said.The country’s mining law also states exports of other unprocessed minerals such as copper will also be stopped. Jokowi did not specify the timing of shipment bans on the other materials.He said there was a possibility that legal action could be pursued against Indonesia for banning bauxite exports, but it would not deter him. The WTO last month ruled in favour of the European Union in a dispute on nickel ore exports, which Indonesia is appealing.Image source: Russian Presidential Executive Office, Wikimedia CommonsSource: https://www.mining.com/web/indonesia-confirms-bauxite-export-ban-to-proceed-as-scheduled/

Mining and logistics company RMK Energy and coal miner Bukit Asam on Friday signed an agreement on the logistical support for the latter’s 2.5 million tons of coal starting in 2023.RMKE represented by subsidiary Royaltama Mulia Kencana will build a hauling road from Bukit Asam’s mining sites and provide railway transport, loading and unloading services, stockpile services, and loading and transshipment to the mother vessel, the company said in a statement.“The collaboration between RMKE and Bukit Asam is a fine-tuner to our synergy with [state-run railway company] KAI in implementing the seamless coal transportation in South Sumatra,” RMKE Chief Executive Officer Tony Saputra said. “RMKE’s logistical solution which has been integrated with the KAI railroad networks allows Bukit Asam to optimize [productivity] from its abundant resources, making this agreement mutually beneficial to all the three parties,” he added.Tony stressed that the company remains in full support of the government’s zero emissions targets and renewable energy programs but post-pandemic challenges and the current geopolitical situation have put many countries on the brink of an energy crisis that requires urgent solution for energy security and boosts demands for coal until the global economy recovers to the pre-pandemic levels.RMKE has targeted to transport 20 million tons of coal under collaboration with other mining firms and sell 5 million of its own coal annually.Prior to the agreement signing with RMKE, Bukit Asam reached a deal with KAI to transport 20 million tons of coal a year from Tanjung Enim to Keramasan in South Sumatra. The railroad is set to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2024.Another railroad heading to Perajen Port is being built with a capacity of 20 million tons, expected to be completed in 2026.It’s hard to define the core business of RMKE because nearly 80 percent of revenue is generated from coal sales but the company’s infrastructural backbone has been coal logistics.While the Indonesia Stock Exchange puts RMKE into the group of energy stocks, the company describes itself as "the largest coal logistic provider in South Sumatra".RMKE has earned a reputation as the only private mining company to build its own railway system to carry coal from mining sites in South Sumatra jungles to the nearest port when most other companies depend on the government for that service.The biggest problem in Indonesia’s coal mining is that “we can hardly bring them out”, RMKE Finance Director Vincent Saputra told the Jakarta Globe in a recent interview. That led to the idea of building its own railroads that may open opportunities for logistics businesses serving fellow miners in the province.RMK Energy Finance Director Vincent Saputra shows the location of the company s operations in South Sumatra during a visit to B-Universe newsroom in Jakarta on November 30, 2022. (Joanito De Saojoao)RMK Energy Finance Director Vincent Saputra shows the location of the company s operations in South Sumatra during a visit to B-Universe newsroom in Jakarta on November 30, 2022. (Joanito De Saojoao)In 2014, RMKE executives met with Ignasius Jonan, then the president director of state-run railway company Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), to propose the construction of railroads in Muara Enim, South Sumatra.After securing KAI support, RMKE began to search steel rails and it's lucky for them that a discontinued Russian railway project in Kalimantan provided exactly what they needed, Vincent said.The new railroad, spanning around 10 kilometers, was completed in just two years and even Jonan was surprised. The railway is jointly operated by KAI which provides carriages and manpower and RMKE which loads and unloads coals from in-house and third-party's mining.Image source: RMKESource: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/rmk-energy-bukit-asam-sign-coal-transport-agreement

PT Golden Eagle Energy Tbk (SMMT) targets an increase in coal sales by 15-20% in 2023. The increase in demand is expected to come from Asian markets. Meanwhile, this year's production target is expected to reach the target.President Director of Golden Eagle Roza Permana Putra said that the company is optimistic about achieving the production target of 3 million tons of coal this year. This is supported by the success of producing 2.44 million tons until September 2022. Last year, the company's production volume was around 2.04 million tons."The company's coal production until September 2022 comes from 75% of mining business permits (IUP) in Sumatra. While the rest is from IUP in Kalimantan," said Roza in his statement, Friday (12/16/2022).He said that the achievement of annual financial and operational performance in 2022 has exceeded the target set at the beginning of the year. From the financial side, sales and net profit have soared by 119% and 139%, respectively. As a result, the cash flow obtained from operating activities increased to Rp 285 billion.Regarding capital expenditure (capex), he said, it was allocated IDR 25 billion in 2023. The capex figure is greater, compared to the previous year.Image source: PT Golden Eagle Energy Tbk.Source: https://investor.id/market-and-corporate/316621/golden-eagle-smmt-bidik-kenaikan-volume-penjualan-20-di-2023

In a turbulent year marred by global monetary tightening, recession fears, and a war in Ukraine, a mining stock in Indonesia is proving to be the world’s best performer with a whopping 1,595% rally.Shares of PT Adaro Minerals Indonesia have moved sideways since sliding from a peak in April, but are still handsomely beating peers in the 2,803-member Bloomberg World Index — delivering more than double the returns of runner-up Turkish Airlines.Adaro has seen its share price skyrocket since a Jan. 3 debut in Jakarta, catapulting from 100 rupiah to 2,990 rupiah in just over three months before a downshift took hold. It closed at 1,695 rupiah on Wednesday, with a market cap of about $4.5 billion.While the stock’s fortune has been closely tied to global coal prices, analysts see more gains thanks to Adaro’s strategy to use its windfall profit to diversify into aluminum and battery making for electric vehicles.The company reported a 482% jump in net profit in the nine months through September as its average selling price more than doubled and coal sales volume jumped 41%. Forecasts from five analysts compiled by Bloomberg suggest another 42% upside in stock prices over the next 12 months.Adaro’s price-to-book ratio at about 9.4 is near its lowest since listing, according to Bloomberg-compiled data, though it’s about six times higher than domestic peers including PT Bukit Asam and PT Indo Tambangraya Megah. China’s Shanxi Coking Coal Energy Group Co. and Australia’s Whitehaven Coal Ltd. — both of which produce coking coal — have ratios at about 2.Image source: Adaro EnergySource: https://www.mining.com/web/indonesian-miner-is-worlds-biggest-stock-winner-of-2022/