Indonesia’s nickel miners’ association APNI on Friday urged the government to ensure mining quotas continue to be valid for three years to maintain a consistent business climate, rather than reverting to a single year as planned.
The mining minister on Wednesday said the government plans to cut the duration of mining quotas, known as RKABs, to one year to better control supply and to support prices of commodities such as coal and nickel.
The resource-rich country extended the quotas’ validity to three years in 2023 to reduce the burden of seeking approval on both authorities and applicants, though companies are able to propose revisions to their quotas each year.
APNI on Friday said while it appreciates efforts to sustain the mining sector, reducing quota duration would create bottlenecks in the approval process as thousands of miners would need to seek quotas every year.
“The government needs to strengthen internal evaluation and oversight capacity, not lengthen the bureaucratic chain with shorter licensing periods,” APNI said in a statement.
Medium-term certainty is vital for investment and operational planning, it said.
Deputy mining minister Yuliot Tanjung on Friday said details of the change are “still being formulated” but declined to comment further.
He did not comment about the association’s request.
The ministry in a statement late on Thursday reiterated that the plan is aimed at maintaining price stability and mitigating impact of price drops on government revenue.
