JAKARTA - The Indonesian Nickel Industry Forum (FINI) spoke out regarding the coordination meeting of the Critical Mineral and Rare Earth Metal (LTJ) Export Governance held by the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) on July 27, 2026.
The meeting was attended by representatives of ministries and agencies; business actors, including surveyors; law enforcement officers; research and research institutions; and business actors' associations.
Chairman of FINI, Arif Perdana Kusumah, said that at the meeting, business actors obtained certainty that a number of export activities carried out through shipping vessels carrying mining products from processing/purification, including nickel and bauxite, which had previously been held back and hindered, had been allowed to continue shipping.
"The obstacles previously occurred due to the obligation to carry out testing on the content of LTJ and radioactive elements in products to be exported," he said in a statement to the media, Wednesday, July 29.
According to him, the testing cannot be carried out due to several issues, including; regulations/governance, including field readiness such as testing tools and testing techniques.
"However, as of today, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, we have received information that there are still about 120 Surveyor Reports (LS) that have not been published," he continued.
The LS consists of various commodities (industrial cross-border) from mining products originating from operational activities in Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, and Bangka Belitung.
This LS, he continued, is a LS that is currently in the process of not being completed by several surveyors such as Anindya, Carsurin, Sucofindo, Tribhakti, and Geo Services.
"In principle, the industry supports the obligation to carry out testing in order to map the potential or inventory of LTJ reserves in Indonesia," said Arif.
However, the presence of LTJ as an element of imitation in a product of processing/purification should not automatically change the classification of the main product (which in normal conditions can be exported) into a product that is prohibited from being exported.
Arif said that the consequences of export activities need to be determined based on the identity of the main product, tariff post classification or Harmonized System Code, the level of elements contained, mineralogical characteristics, and the ability of these elements to be recovered technically and economically.
In this case, the economic recovery rate and the threshold criteria for the content specific to each commodity need to be an important part of policy determination.
Nickel processing and/or refining facilities based on High Pressure Acid Leaching or HPAL and Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace or RKEF technologies, as well as a number of other technologies currently being developed, such as Oxygen-Enriched Side-Blown Furnace or OESBF, including Heap Leach, and other technologies, are basically built with technology designs focused on processing nickel ore into intermediate products, such as Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate, Nickel Pig Iron, Ferronickel, and Nickel Matte.
Meanwhile, the extraction and purification process of LTJ which is contained in the products of nickel processing/purification still requires further research and study, both in terms of technology and economics.
On the other hand, Indonesia's nickel downstream industry is still relatively young and is currently facing heavy pressure on its main business.
The pressure comes from, among others, a decline in global demand; price fluctuations; increased production and energy costs; an increase in the cost components of major raw materials and auxiliary materials such as industrial sulfur and solar; and several policies that present their own challenges for business actors.
"Considering these conditions, policies related to LTJ need to be designed proportionally and implemented gradually, with a clear transition period," he continued.
Furthermore, he said, if the policy also needs to consider the readiness of technology, business economics, and industry's ability to develop new value chains without disrupting the sustainability of the nickel downstream industry that has been running.
Arif said, the biggest added value of LTJ was created after going through the separation and purification process.
Therefore, the direction of the LTJ policy should be focused on encouraging the formation of a downstream ecosystem that is able to carry out the process specifically and sustainably.
Meanwhile, the nickel processing/purification industry which is currently operating can be given a number of role options.
Smelter, for example, can serve as a supplier of raw materials or initial residues with reasonable recovery schemes and incentives.
Smelter can also be encouraged to develop to a more downstream stage if based on studies it is proven to have clear benefits and economics.
"With this approach, the nickel industry is not merely required to build the entire LTJ value chain independently," he said.
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