BRIN is Pursuing Purification Technology, Critical Minerals Can Be Worth 40 Times More

JAKARTA - The National Research and Innovation Agency wants Indonesia not to stop being a critical mineral miner. The institution is building a processing technology that is claimed to be able to increase the added value by around 40 times.

BRIN Head Arif Satria conveyed this after meeting President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace Complex, Thursday, August 6.

According to Arif, BRIN is building the ability to process critical minerals from the stages of source search, extraction, separation, to purification.

"What we are pursuing is not just mining, but controlling the stages that determine the strategic value and economic value," said Arif.

Critical minerals are mined materials that are important for industry and technology, but their supply is limited or vulnerable to disruption. These types of minerals are widely used for batteries, electric vehicles, clean energy, electronics, and defense.

Arif said the processing unit prepared by BRIN was designed to have a capacity of at least 1,000 tons of raw materials per year.

According to BRIN's calculations, this processing has the potential to increase the value added by around 40 times. However, Arif has not detailed the types of minerals to be processed, the location of the facility, investment needs, and the time to start operating.

Mastery of processing technology is an important part of downstream processing. The economic value of minerals is not only determined when mined, but also when separated, purified, and processed into materials that are ready for industrial use.

BRIN assessed that these stages need to be mastered so that Indonesia does not continue to rely on processing technology from abroad.

Arif also said BRIN would bring together research results with government and industry needs. This step is necessary so that the technology developed does not stop as a laboratory project.