JAKARTA - Indonesia's nickel miners association (APNI) said on Thursday it will continue asking the government to stick to its 2022 timetable for a nickel ore export ban as President Joko Widodo deliberates on possibly implementing the measure earlier.
Indonesia, a major exporter of nickel, is discussing the possibility of moving forward a mineral ore export ban due in 2022, sparking fears of supply constraints on metal exchanges in Shanghai and London.
President Widodo, who was re-elected for a second term in April, said in a speech last week he wants more ore processing done onshore to add value to the nation's mineral resources before they are exported.
APNI has requested a meeting with the president and various ministers to plead their case, as banning ore exports earlier than expected would cut the revenue they need to finance their smelter developments, the association's secretary general, Meidy Katrin Lengkey, told reporters.
"We will continue our efforts and keep raising our voices until October," Lengkey said, adding that many small miners will be forced to close their mines if they are not able to export their unprocessed mineral ores.
President Joko Widodo has asked his ministers not to make a strategic decision before October, when he officially starts his second term.
No timeline has been given by officials for President Widodo's decision on the ore export policy.
In a statement on Thursday, Luhut Pandjaitan, coordinating minister overseeing mining, said the president will make the announcement on any decision.
"The point is, as has been said before, there should be value added," he said in the statement.
Members of APNI on Thursday also called for government supervision of ore pricing by existing local smelters.
The group complained that local smelters are pricing high-grade nickel ore much cheaper compared to low-grade ore exports.
"This is not right. They want high-grade ores but with unfair pricing. Miners are suffering," said Antonius Setyadi, an APNI official.
The association's data showed that domestic smelters are buying nickel ore at an average of $24 per tonne, while offshore buyers are paying around $34 per tonne.
(Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Tom Hogue) ((Fransiska.Nangoy@thomsonreuters.com; +62 21 2992 7610; Reuters Messaging: fransiska.nangoy.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
