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PrintIndonesian government officials are scrambling to pass regulations to ease a ban on unprocessed mineral ore exports from Jan 12.
The ban aims to boost Indonesia’s long-term return from its mineral wealth, but officials fear a short-term cut in foreign revenue could widen the current account deficit, which has undermined investor confidence and battered the rupiah.
“The (mining) ministry proposed that miners will be given flexibility to export concentrate or processed minerals until 2017,” Sukhyar, director general of coal and minerals at the ministry, told reporters.
“After 2017, they will only be allowed to export metal or refined mineral,” he said.
The mineral ban is one of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s biggest economic policy moves in his nearly10 years in office.
Under the proposed regulations, miners such as US giants Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and Newmont Mining Corp would still be allowed to export copper, manganese, lead, zinc, and iron ore concentrate until 2017.
Freeport and Newmont, however, would not be allowed to ship copper concentrate after 2017. The two companies account for 97 per cent of the country’s copper production and currently refine only about a third of their copper output in Indonesia.
“The point here is ... around three years from now, the ymust purify,” Sukhyar said.
The ministry decided to keep the ban on nickel ore and bauxite because of ample domestic smelters, he added. Indonesia is the world’s top exporter of nickel ore.
Out of the hundreds of nickel miners in Indonesia, only PT Antam and PT Vale Indonesia currently process their ore domestically.
Last month, the mining ministry forecast nickel production would tumble 78pc this year compared with 2012, while bauxite would plummet 97pc.
Analysts expect global nickel prices to rise if Indonesia follows through on its ban.
“If there is a ban, we think there is considerable upside,” said Citi commodities strategist Ivan Szapakowski, who forecast that the LME’s benchmark 3-month nickel contract could rise as high as $17,000 a tonne from $13,465 currently.
Shares in Indonesian mining firms rose on the Jakarta stock exchange on Wednesday, with the mining index up 1.8pc.
The proposal could still be tweaked and must be approved by the president, who is expected to support the changes.—Reuters
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