Not Enough Downstreaming, Industry Players Encourage Nickel Industrialization

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Mining Expert Association (Perhapi) Rizal Kasli emphasized that downstreaming that needs to be done in the future for the nickel industry is industrialization.

"All vice presidential candidates are in the debate to prioritize downstreaming. But what we want to emphasize is that the downstreaming in question here is actually industrialization," Rizal said in the Energy Corner quoted on Thursday, February 15.

He explained that the industrialization in question is mining products and mineral commodities not only stop at interseperert ferronicles, nickel pig iron (NPI) and nickel mate products.

"We have to go down well, meaning that there must be a new industrialization built by the government. Otherwise, everything will be exported to China because it is the investment from China," explained Rizal.

Rizal said, apart from China, Indonesia also exports nickel downstream results to other countries such as Japan and Korea in small amounts.

For this reason, he emphasized, Indonesia needs to industrialize so that the products exported are finished products so as to increase added value.

"This is what the government must do as soon as possible and get a high added value. If necessary, we import finished products to other countries, we don't export between or semi-finished products," concluded Rizal.