Asks The Government To Be Careful In Processing And Managing Rare Earth Metals, Bambang Patijaya: Clear Regulations Needed

Member of Commission VII DPR RI Bambang Patijaya. (Photo: Doc. Golkar Faction)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission VII DPR RI Bambang Patijaya assesses that the government in this case the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) must be careful in managing, processing or mining rare earth metals, before there are clear regulations. According to his observations, one of the problems with the use of rare earth metals is regulation.

Bambang said the regulations were not clear on the use of rare earth metals (LTJ), such as one of the minerals obtained during tin mining, namely Monasite.

"Monazite, that senotim is indeed a metal group. Only in Monasite at this time, the specificity is that around 0.3 percent contains Thorium which is also very valuable," said Bambang in his statement to the media, Tuesday, April 12.

Furthermore, Bambang explained, currently based on PP number 96 of 2021, Monasite is considered a metal mineral and not a direct radioactive carrier mineral.

However, there is Thorium which is also an inherent part of it which is included in the regulation as a radioactive mineral. On the one hand, Bambang explained, Indonesia can get out of the exploitation trap, because BATAN and the Ministry of Defense have always believed that it was a radioactive product. But on the other hand there is another content that is also valuable.

“This is a very large lost item, because the investment that comes in here is to take the Phosphate (Monazite), not to take the thorium, which has a high value. So don't be careless for mining and processing. Before this is clear, don't give the phosphate (monazite) first," said Bambang.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) emphasized that rare earth elements (RRE) are no longer classified as radioactive minerals.

The Director General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ridwan Djamaluddin, said that the grouping of LTJ as metallic minerals was in accordance with Law no. 3 of 2020 concerning Mineral and Coal Mining (Minerba Law). So that in its use there is no need to ask for permission from the Nuclear Implementing Agency, namely the National Nuclear Energy Agency aka Batan.