Economist: The Presence Of Copper Smelters Is Able To Strengthen The Processing Industry

JAKARTA - Mataram University economist Diswandi assessed that the existence of the copper and precious metal refining facility of PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (AMNT) in West Sumbawa Regency, West Nusa Tenggara, was able to strengthen the processing industry.

"If we look at conventional economies, the presence of smelters can increase gross regional domestic product (GDP) from the mining sector," said Diswandi in Mataram, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, September 26.

He said that copper processing is no longer carried out abroad but directly at the mine site which has a big impact on regional economic growth.

The copper processing activity that is no longer carried out abroad can provide a variety of products that can be exported by West Nusa Tenggara in the future.

According to him, the export variation did not change the percentage of non-oil and gas mining exports, which are still the largest contributors to the current export value of West Nusa Tenggara.

"Although the smelter provides economic benefits, do not let the shares' profits only be felt. This advantage must also be felt by the community around the smelter," said Diswandi.

He further conveyed that as income increased, Amman must increase the corporate social responsibility to create optimal local workers by financing the education of the surrounding community.

In August 2024, the Central Statistics Agency stated that the export value of West Nusa Tenggara was mostly supported by mining commodities with a figure of 443.53 million US dollars or the equivalent of 98.74 percent of the total export value.

The mineral exports were carried out to a number of countries, including China, South Korea, and Japan. The loading activity was carried out directly from the Benete Port in West Sumbawa.

The NTB Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) stated that the contribution of the processing industry in West Nusa Tenggara was recorded at 3.86 percent in 2023.

The NTB Bappeda has prepared a long development direction where the target of the gross regional domestic growth ratio for the processing industry in West Nusa Tenggara is 7.66 percent by 2025, 14.44 percent by 2034, and 21.27 percent by 2045.