The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has reported that investment in mineral downstreaming in North Maluku was recorded at IDR 55 trillion (USD 3.5 billion) in the period of January to September 2024.

Deputy ESDM Minister, Yuliot Tanjung, attributed this growth to the downstream processing of nickel and cobalt, which are essential for the electric vehicle ecosystem.

“Thanks to downstreaming, North Maluku no longer exports raw nickel ore,” Yuliot said in a statement as quoted on Thursday, October 31, 2024.

He also highlighted that the province’s economic growth has soared, reaching 20.49 percent in 2023, making it one of the fastest-growing regions globally.

According to data from the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) for 2023, economic growth in North Maluku is primarily driven by downstreaming and processing industries, which accounted for 10.60 percent, followed by mining at 7.97 percent. Other sectors, such as trade and agriculture, contributed 0.72 percwnt and 0.62 percent, respectively.

Yuliot noted that Indonesia’s downstreaming program is just the beginning, with plans for subsequent phases, including second, third, and fourth stages of downstreaming.

“The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has mapped out industrial pathways to deepen the downstream process and enhance value-added products,” he said.

Downstreaming involves transforming raw materials into higher-value final products. In the mining sector, this means not only exporting minerals in their raw form, but also processing them into valuable goods like refined metals and other mineral products.