Indonesia weighs moratorium on nickel smelters amid global oversupply
2026-11-05 11:34:08 [Print]
Indonesia is considering a moratorium on new mineral smelters that produce only semi-finished goods, as the government seeks to push the downstream industry toward higher-value products and address a global nickel oversupply.
Bahlil Lahadalia, energy and mineral resources minister and coordinating minister for downstream industrialization and energy transition, said Indonesia's mineral processing industry remains heavily concentrated on intermediate products, with an estimated 50% to 60% of downstream output still at the semi-finished stage.
He said he had instructed the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's Directorate General of Minerals and Coal to study whether the government should continue issuing permits for smelters producing only intermediate goods or impose a moratorium.
"We need to conduct a study to determine whether it is still feasible to build smelters that produce only semi-finished products, or whether we should impose a moratorium," Bahlil said at the opening of the 2026 Mineral and Coal Convention and Exhibition (Minerba Convex) at JExpo in Jakarta on Monday.
The proposed policy is intended to encourage investment in facilities that manufacture finished products rather than allowing semi-finished materials to be exported for further processing overseas.
According to Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry data, the value of Indonesia's nickel exports rose from around US$3.3 billion during the 2017-2019 period to US$33.9 billion in 2024.
He attributed the increase to the government's 2020 ban on nickel ore exports, which encouraged investment in domestic smelting and processing facilities.
Bahlil Lahadalia, energy and mineral resources minister and coordinating minister for downstream industrialization and energy transition, said Indonesia's mineral processing industry remains heavily concentrated on intermediate products, with an estimated 50% to 60% of downstream output still at the semi-finished stage.
He said he had instructed the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's Directorate General of Minerals and Coal to study whether the government should continue issuing permits for smelters producing only intermediate goods or impose a moratorium.
"We need to conduct a study to determine whether it is still feasible to build smelters that produce only semi-finished products, or whether we should impose a moratorium," Bahlil said at the opening of the 2026 Mineral and Coal Convention and Exhibition (Minerba Convex) at JExpo in Jakarta on Monday.
The proposed policy is intended to encourage investment in facilities that manufacture finished products rather than allowing semi-finished materials to be exported for further processing overseas.
According to Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry data, the value of Indonesia's nickel exports rose from around US$3.3 billion during the 2017-2019 period to US$33.9 billion in 2024.
He attributed the increase to the government's 2020 ban on nickel ore exports, which encouraged investment in domestic smelting and processing facilities.
Nickel Ore Philippine 1.3%min CIF China
Unit:USD/mt
China nickel sulfate producers' sales volume statistics by province by month
Unit: mt
