Jokowi Ensures He Will Continue to Ban Mineral Exports in June 2023

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) ensured that Indonesia would continue to ban the mining mineral exports such as tin and copper amid the European Union’s lawsuit. This export ban policy will still apply in June.

This export ban is not without reason. Jokowi hopes that the mineral export moratorium commitment can increase the added value of the domestic industry. Then, it is hoped that this will create massive job opportunities during the current energy transition.

Jokowi, when opening the Saratoga Investment Summit, Jakarta, Thursday (26/1/2023), said, “We have stopped exports of nickel raw materials, bauxite. Later tin, copper and others so that they can generate as much added value as possible employment.”

Previously, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) emphasized that it would continue to ban exports of all raw minerals in June 2023, even though the construction of most of the processing and refining factories or domestic smelters was far from the set target.

Meanwhile, the readiness of the advanced downstream industry is also of particular concern to be able to anticipate the potential for an overflow of raw materials in the future.

Executive Director General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Muhammad Idris Fyoto Sihite said the commitment was a follow-up to the downstream mandate stipulated in Law Number 3 of 2020 concerning Mineral and Coal Mining.

Mineral Exports Downstream Requires a Lot of Funds

Downstreaming does require a lot of funds. However, President Jokowi ensured that the government has gained relatively large investment trust from some potential investors after successfully holding the G20 Summit at the end of last year.

He hopes that this momentum can be utilized by relevant stakeholders to increase mineral downstream this year.

“We can be trusted, this momentum must be used to seize green economies investment opportunities, such as the development of electric car ecosystems, EBT, and other green industrial areas,” he said.