The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) is exploring the possibility of partnership with illegal mining actors.

Illustration. (Photo: Dok. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) through the Director General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Rilke Jeffri Huwae revealed that his party was studying the option of conducting coaching for unlicensed mining (PETI) through partnerships.

"Not by legalizing, but by building partnerships," said Jeffri, quoted Tuesday, December 16.

According to him, the crackdown on illegal mining is actually a concern for many parties. However, he emphasized that this must be based on strong rules and in-depth studies.

He assessed that the regulation on illegal mines cannot be equated with the rules on people's oil wells which are regulated in the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 14 of 2025.

He explained that the oil wells regulated in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Decree 14/2025 have been around for a long time. This is different from illegal mining that continues to emerge.

"The philosophy of the Minister is to make Permen 14 because indeed those wells have existed since ancient times. And it is managed. Well, rather than them being illegal and then unproductive, while there is economic value there, then Permen 14 is made. But specifically for illegal mines, this has not existed since the beginning. In fact, it is possible that after I have finished talking, there are still illegal mines," said Jeffri.

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He added that the partnership scheme is better if it is combined with coaching because the benefits can be felt more by the community around the mine.

"So what? So that the people around the mine who want to enjoy the natural resources can be accommodated in the rules. In the rules and rules of the game like that. That's all," he said.