Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has expressed Indonesia's readiness to work with several African countries and help optimize their natural resources so that they can advance and develop their economies.He made the statement at the “Special Ministerial-CEOs Meeting: Emerging Economies Cooperation” in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday (November 17, 2022), which was attended by ministers and delegates from three African countries—the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Rwanda, and the Republic of Senegal, as well as delegates from the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)."Indonesia's economy is growing very fast, and we are quickly moving from exporting raw materials to developing value-added industries. Inspired by the Bandung Spirit and South-South Cooperation, we want to work together and help other developing countries strengthen their private sector to do the same thing," he said, according to a statement released in Jakarta on Friday.In order to achieve a sustainable industrial base and mining industry, Indonesia is also supporting the development of new business models, new technologies and platforms, as well as infrastructure that supports the transformation to increase productivity, Pandjaitan added."Synergies in innovative financing for strategic industries and critical infrastructure are very important," he said.While some government agencies may be lagging in terms of infrastructure development, many private global companies are looking for investment opportunities in infrastructure and strategic industries.According to him, state-owned enterprises (BUMN) and the private sector will be interested in participating in all strategic projects by strengthening and expanding innovative mechanisms to facilitate public-private partnerships."We need public-private involvement and collaboration at every level to improve our competitiveness, prosperity, and future," the minister said.Pandjaitan further said that developing countries must have independence and sovereignty in using and exploiting their natural resources in the right way."Which means that developing countries need to have the right to exercise their own discretion and optimize their natural abundance towards their own economic progress and development," he explained.Meanwhile, the CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, highlighted the paradox of African development, which he described as “poverty amidst abundant wealth.”He said he is hoping for mutually beneficial cooperation with southern countries to optimize the wealth of biodiversity.The South-South Cooperation (KSS) is a cooperation scheme among developing countries, which is carried out through bilateral and multilateral means mutually.Meanwhile, the Bandung Spirit, which emerged from the 1955 Asian-African Conference, refers to the spirit of peace highlighted by Asian-African leaders who attended the conference for resolving the problems of imperialism and competition between the West and East blocs.Image source: ANTARA/HO Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and InvestmentSource: https://en.antaranews.com/news/261081/indonesia-ready-to-help-african-nations-optimize-natural-resources

PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (INALUM) and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) signed a feasibility study agreement related to the development of INALUM's browfileld expansion in Kuala Tanjung, North Sumatra.The agreement was signed by INALUM President Director Hendi Prio Santoso and EGA Chief Executive Officer, Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, at the G20 Summit in Bali, Monday (14/11).President Director of INALUM, Hendi Prio Santoso, said that this agreement is expected to confirm that EGA is INALUM's preferred partner for the Kuala Tanjung brownfield expansion.The consideration is based on the efficiency of EGA's smelting technology and experience transferring it internationally, as well as the company's potential partnerships as an investor and or metal offtaker."We see advancing to the successful conclusions of the bankable feasibility study as the next step before we begin construction," he said in a written statement. EGA is the largest non-oil and gas industry company from the United Arab Emirates.Under this agreement, EGA has the exclusive right to license the UAE-developed technology to INALUM for brownfield aluminum smelter expansion. EGA will license DX+ Ultra smelting technology to INALUM which is the international company's latest industrial technology.The commercial license is for the expansion of the Kuala Tanjung brownfield smelter in North Sumatra, if the project proves feasible.EGA itself has been developing its smelting technology in the UAE for more than 30 years, and was the first UAE industrial company to license its core process technology internationally in a deal with Bahraini Aluminium in 2016.The EGA's requirement for metal investment or retrieval is that the prioritized project uses renewable energy. The existing Kuala Tanjung aluminum smelting plant uses electricity generated by hydropower.The expansion project is expected to have a capacity of more than 400 thousand tonnes of aluminum per year, depending on the results of a bankable feasibility study that will now be co-financed by EGA and INALUM."This agreement is an important step forward in our cooperation with INALUM, and brings the deployment of UAE-developed technology closer to Indonesia," said EGA Chief Executive Officer Abdulnasser Bin Kalban.He said potential investments in the expansion of Kuala Tanjung's brownfield, and the sale of metals, would advance growth in low-carbon aluminum that would enable modern life around the world while protecting the earth for future generations."I thank INALUM for their continued trust in the EGA in line with the partnership between our two countries."For your information, INALUM and EGA have worked together in increasing the potential to use EGA technology knowledge from the existing aluminum smelter in Kuala Tanjung, based on an agreement signed in 2020.The project aims to increase production from existing reduction cells by about 20,000 tons per year or about 10 percent. Design work for the pilot part of the project has been completed.The EGA itself has completed a series of similar improvements across its sites in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah over the past few decades.In 2020, EGA signed an agreement with NEO Aluminio Colombia that could lead to the export of EGA technology for the development of the South American country's first aluminum production facility.Image source: KONTAN/Baihaki/22/7/2018Source: https://industri.kontan.co.id/news/inalum-dan-ega-mengggarap-potensi-penggunaan-teknologi-alumunium-di-kuala-tanjung

Rare earth elements (REEs), especially heavy REEs (HREEs), are important in modern industry. However, the conventional mining technique applies excessive usage of ammonium-salt-based leaching agents to recover HREEs from ion-adsorption rare earth deposits (IADs), which exhibits low efficiency and devastating environmental impact on the local ecosystem.Thus, it’s necessary to shift from the traditional “mountain scraping” type of mining to a new generation of green HREE mining.Recently, a research team led by Prof. HE Hongping from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new technique, electrokinetic mining (EKM), for the green and efficient recovery of REEs from weathering crusts.The technique exerts a voltage on the top and bottom of the IAD, which generates an electric field to accelerate REE and water migration toward the cathode.Compared with conventional techniques, EKM achieves ca. 90% recovery efficiency, ca. 80% decrease in leaching agent usage, and ca.70% reduction in metallic impurities in the obtained REEs.The study was published in Nature Sustainability on Oct. 31.To evaluate the feasibility of EKM for REE recovery, Prof. HE’s lab first carried out bench-scale experiments in a homemade prototype with a simulated IAD. Results suggested that the REE recovery efficiency achieved by the EKM technique was 2.6 times higher than that achieved by the ammonium leaching technique.Then, they further carried out scaled-up experiments at the kilogram scale (20 kg) in a larger EKM setup. The results were consistent with bench-scale experiments, i.e., the EKM technique can achieve higher recovery efficiency and requires less treatment time.Based on the successful bench-scale and scaled-up experiments, they applied the EKM technique to an actual IAD (~14 t-scale) via an on-site field experiment. Results suggested that the REE recovery efficiency achieved higher than 90% in 264 hours.The researchers further explored mechanisms underlying the high REE recovery efficiency of the EKM. “The applied electric field that accelerates REEs and water migration unidirectionally towards the designed place via electromigration and electroosmosis is the key for enhancing REE recovery efficiency,” said Prof. HE.Apart from the sustainability and high recovery efficiency, the EKM shows selectivity for REEs as compared with other metallic impurities (Al3+, Ca2+ Na+, and K+), i.e., the collected metallic impurities are decreased by using the EKM technique. “We identified an autonomous impurity purification mechanism during the electrokinetic process, which is based on velocity and reactivity diversity between REE and other active metal ions,” said Prof. HE.Image source: The VergeSource: https://www.miragenews.com/researchers-develop-electrokinetic-mining-897814/

BUMN Holding Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID) continues to improve Indonesia's very potential mining management system. One of them is by realizing a sustainable natural resource supply chain.The business process initiated by MIND ID is also to increase the added value of commodities through sustainable schemes. The sustainable narrative carried by MIND ID is spelled out in the company's business strategy.As a Mining Industry Holding with its members, namely: PT Antam Tbk, PT Bukit Asam, Tbk. PT Freeport Indonesia, PT Inalum (Persero), PT Timah Tbk., MIND ID continues to improve and focus in accordance with the Government's mandate to become a world-class company.MIND ID's Director of Institutional Relations Dany Amrul Ichdan mentioned that there are three main business strategies of MIND ID. First, MIND ID exercises control over mining reserves. MIND ID continues to conduct various research and developments to maximize aggressive mining exploitation and production. This red plate company also continues to strive to increase competitiveness through the use of digital technology."The idea of Smart Mining carried by MIND ID is expected to be able to encourage mining optimization through the implementation of the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning, as well as big data that can maximize mining sector activities," he said at the Special Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Thursday (11/17/2022).Second, MIND ID develops its downstream business. Efforts to maximize the scale of downstream assets by optimizing the company's internal performance. Hendi said that the development of project management standards in the company continues to be carried out in order to reap maximum results such as being able to accelerate high-quality projects."The purpose of the improvements made is none other than to develop downstream assets on a global scale," he said.In addition, MIND ID is also aggressively collaborating strategically with several companies to expand its business in the downstream sector.When upstream mining products are abundant, the company's next target is to anchor the downstream industrial sector.The third strategy is to become a global player. The target carried by MIND ID is to become a world-class player from the upstream to downstream sectors in the mining industry and its derivatives. The company continues to develop its capabilities and optimize its portfolio."The capacity building and optimization of the portfolio aims to build organization and culture in the company, develop technological capabilities through partnership schemes, optimize the portfolio through integrated concepts and restructure company management to make it more profitable," said Dany.MIND ID also implements sustainable practices such as through local community empowerment systems and others. This company also continues to innovate to explore new business potential through development in an extraordinary way.Image source: Aris KurniawanSource: https://ekbis.sindonews.com/read/944999/77/minesterial-meeting-ktt-g20-mind-id-siap-menjadi-pemain-dunia-pengelolaan-tambang-berkelanjutan-1668755510

Chairman of the Indonesian Mining Experts Association (Perhapi) Rizal Kasli welcomed the government's plan to stop new investments in the construction of the Rotary Kiln-Electric Furnace (RKEF) pyrometallurgical plant.As is known, RKEF is a downstream line of processing high-grade nickel ore or saprolite to then produce stainless steel.Rizal said the current reserves of high-grade nickel ore are relatively limited with an effective age in the range of 10 years. According to him, investment in saprolite processing and refining plants or smelters to produce stainless steel raw materials is fairly intensive, thus lowering the currently available reserves."There are already quite a lot of smelters that produce raw materials forstainless steel. The need also remains stable forstainless steelbecause it is needed for construction, medical devices and other machinery," said Rizal when contacted, Sunday (20/11/2022).On the other hand, Rizal said, low-grade nickel ore is still not optimally cultivated. The reason is that investment in hydrometallurgical smelters to process limonite as raw material for electric vehicle batteries is still relatively limited.According to him, the moratorium policy will also divert investment in smelters with RKEF technology in low-grade nickel processing plants. Thus, the downstream development of electric vehicle batteries can be more aggressive in the future."Several companies are in the refinery construction stage to produce mixedhydroxide precipitate (MHP) which will later be used as raw material for electric vehicle batteries," he said.Previously, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves) was preparing a policy of stopping or moratorium on new investments in the construction of the Rotary Kiln-Electric Furnace (RKEF) pyrometallurgical plant which became the downstream line of processing high-grade nickel ore or saprolite to then produce stainless steel.The moratorium policy will also be followed by corrective factor (CF) adjustments for the benchmark mineral price (HPM) of high-grade nickel ore. The hope is that there will be a shift in raw material consumption for nickel processing plants in limonite.Special Staff to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Irwandy Arif said the manoeuvre was taken to increase new investment in hydrometallurgical plants that further process low-grade nickel ore or limonite into electric vehicle batteries to solar panels."Mr. Menko Luhut has spoken with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Minister of Industry so that the direction of stainless steel that consumes high levels of nickel should be limited," said Irwandy during an online discussion, Friday (11/18/2022).Irwandy said his ministry and the Ministry of Industry are discussing the downstream intensification of the low-grade nickel ore in line with plans to stop new investment in the upcoming stainless steel-producing RKEF technology-based plant.On the other hand, he said, the moratorium plan is still being matured after the initial meeting that has started since early 2021."At the beginning of last year, there was an internal meeting, yes, Rapim specifically for industry and mining, but it must be encouraged again to be more advanced," he said.Image source: Ahli Tambang Sebut Alasan Pemerintah Bahas Moratorium Investasi Smelter RKEF NikelSource: https://ekonomi.bisnis.com/read/20221121/44/1600186/ahli-tambang-sebut-alasan-pemerintah-bahas-moratorium-investasi-smelter-rkef-nikel

Metso Outotec has been awarded a repeat order to deliver sustainable tailings filtration technology for Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co Ltd’s new laterite nickel mine project in Indonesia. The order value, which is not disclosed, has been booked in Minerals fourth-quarter 2022 orders received.Metso Outotec’s scope of delivery consists of the engineering, manufacturing and supply of 15 Larox® FFP3512 filters, as well as installation and commissioning advisory services and spare parts. The fully automatic, fast-opening filter press (FFP) is part of Metso Outotec’s Planet Positive offering. The filter combines the benefits of membrane technology and sidebar design with high mechanical and process performance, providing safe and sustainable high-volume dewatering of tailings with low operating and life cycle costs.“As a core supplier of Huayou Cobalt, we are honoured to be selected again to provide efficient and sustainable tailings filtration technology. The signing of this order represents not only the continuation and deepening of our long-term cooperation, but also Huayou Cobalt’s trust in Metso Outotec technology and services. To date, we’ve received orders for 37 Larox® FFP3512 filters from Huayou,” says Xun Fang, General Manager, Minerals sales, Greater China at Metso Outotec.Huayou Cobalt is a high-tech enterprise engaged in the research, development and manufacturing of new energy lithium-ion battery and cobalt materials in China. Its nickel cobalt hydrometallurgy project in Indonesia is one of the largest and most advanced hydrometallurgy projects in the world. Metso Outotec has signed several cooperation agreements with Huayou Cobalt to provide comprehensive mineral processing solutions for its projects in Indonesia, including SAG mills, ball mills, as well as Larox® FFP3512 filters and thickening equipment of various specifications.Image source: Huayou CobaltSource: https://im-mining.com/2022/11/09/huayou-cobalt-awards-tailings-filtration-equipment-order-to-metso-outotec/

PT Bumi Resources Tbk (BUMI) won the Corporate Risk Manager of the Year category award at the Energy Risk Asia Awards 2022. This award is the second time BUMI has obtained it since 2021 and was announced in conjunction with the Energy Risk Asia Virtual Conference.Bumi won this award for the innovation and creativity of companies in the Asian region in overcoming the challenges they face in the field of risk management."The award, which has been obtained for two consecutive years, is a reflection of the strong international recognition of BUMI's achievements in managing risks to maintain business performance, achieve the Company's strategic goals and grow sustainably amidst the severe challenges of geopolitical uncertainty and also the severity of the world's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," said BUMI President Director, Adika Nuraga Bakrie, saturday (11/19/2022).Adika added that BUMI's corporate risk management system and culture, which has been built since 2008, shows its role in helping the Company mitigate operational risks while managing business uncertainty that arises from world geopolitical conditions.The risk management function played a role since the beginning of the pandemic by formulating the Company's policies related to health protocols and COVID-19 mitigation procedures in BUMI and its subsidiaries.In 2022 BUMI will remain consistent in managing risks, including through improving the performance of Governance, Social and Environmental or ESG aspects, this is evidenced by the increasing ESG BUMI openness score assessed by Bloomberg and Refinitiv.This year BUMI continues to strengthen its ESG performance by focusing on social aspects, namely through the implementation of human rights due diligence in BUMI and its subsidiaries, namely PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Arutmin Indonesia.It is also part of BUMI's commitment to implementing the United Nations Guidelines for Business and Human Rights which stipulate that human rights due diligence is a mandatory process for companies to comprehensively respect human rights across their business activities.Image source: Detikcom/Dikhy SasraSource: https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/market/20221120063328-17-389564/top-bumi-raih-penghargaan-corporate-risk-manager-of-the-year

PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) seeks to optimize digitalization in the Grasberg mining operational area in Papua.Freeport Indonesia President Director Toni Wenas said PTFI strives to always be adaptive to technological developments. The mining sector is also considered to have not escaped digitalization. Moreover, this sector is said to have a high risk to the safety of its workers.The condition of PTFI's mine is quite complex because it is located at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level. The city of Tembagapura, which is close to PTFI's operational area, is also located at an altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level. PTFI also has a riverside port 100 kilometers from the sea coast."Rainfall in our mining area is the highest in the world," he said at the Indonesia Digital Conference, Tuesday (22/11).PTFI has begun to adopt mining digitalization since 2006 and has gradually passed through the Advanced Digital Technology program. One example of its implementation is the installation of chips on PTFI mining cars or trucks, which currently number more than 3,000 units.With the chip, supervisorsat PTFI can track the company's mining trucks, including anticipating when the trucks experience problems on the road.When PTFI began to focus on working on underground mining, digital technology was increasingly massively implemented by the company. Heavy equipment used for underground mining activities can all operate automatically. The operator of such heavy equipment carries out work from an office 10 km away from the mine area."The risk of underground mining is very large, so if mining activities can be carried outremotely, this is certainly very helpful for us," said Toni.Not only that, since 2021, PTFi has also adopted 5G mining technology in the Grasberg mining area through collaboration with Telkomsel. This 5G technology cooperation covers an operating area of 2loadersor ore transport devices in extraction tunnels 34 and 35 at the Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) mine.In addition, 5G is also implemented by PTFI in public areas such as underground mining administration offices, tera shops, Tembagapura's main office building, and Kuala Kencana office buildings.Toni said that PTFI has poured investment in the range of US$ 20 million since 2006 for the implementation of digitalization in the company's mining area. This value does not include investment in mining digitalization support equipment. "This digital investment is long-term," he said.With the adoption of digital technology, PTFI can improve its mining efficiency and productivity. In addition, the work safety of PTFI employees is also more guaranteed with the implementation of digital technology.Image source: ILUSTRASISource: https://industri.kontan.co.id/news/freeport-indonesia-optimalkan-teknologi-digital-di-tambang-grasberg

The World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement body or DSB viewed that Indonesia’s ban on the export and refining of nickel minerals had violated regulations. Responding to the verdict, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM) said Indonesia will appeal the court verdict. "The government argues that the panel's decision does not yet have permanent legal force, so there is still an opportunity for appeal and there is no need to change regulations or even revoke policies before the disputed decision is adopted by the DSB," said ESDM Minister Arifin in a working meeting with members of House Commission VII on Monday, November 21.Arifin maintains that the government would keep the mineral (nickel) downstream policy by accelerating the construction of smelters. The regulations highlighted in the WTO trial include Law No.4/2009 concerning Mineral and Coal Mining, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No.11/2019 the second amendment to the Regulation of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources No. 25/2018 concerning Mineral and Coal Mining.In the final ruling, it is stated that the export policy and the obligation to process and refine nickel minerals in Indonesia violate the provisions of the WTO Article XI.1 GATT 1994. This policy cannot be justified by Article XI.2(a) and XX(d) GATT 1994.The Panel also rejected the defense submitted by the Government of Indonesia regarding the limited amount of national nickel reserves and good mining practices. The final decision will be distributed to other WTO members on November 30 before it will be included in the DSB agenda on December 20.Image source: TEMPO/M Taufan RengganisSource: https://en.tempo.co/read/1659618/indonesia-to-lodge-appeal-after-losing-wto-dispute-on-nickel-export-ban

Indonesian gold miner Indo Muro Kencana (IMK) has experienced exciting productivity improvements since connecting the country’s largest ever fleet of machines to Volvo ActiveCare in late 2021 ­– the remote monitoring and proactive maintenance service from Volvo Construction Equipment.VolvoCE IndonesiasIMK’s 52 articulated haulers and seven crawler excavators are fitted with sensors that convey real-time information relating to their production, fuel consumption, health, and even operator skill to a portal in the cloud. Some data points, such as location, speed and load, are also communicated from machine to machine to help the operators complete work safely and efficiently.The dashboards and reports then enable the plant and site manager to identify areas for productivity and efficiency improvements, implement adjustments, and set new targets for further progress. This could involve tweaking the number and capacity of machines on site to reduce idling time, finding more direct driving routes, or introducing training for certain operators.Nine months on, the data has helped IMK increase productivity across its three sites by approximately a third, noted Volvo, while reducing fuel consumption for the benefit of the environment and the company’s bottom line.Another major benefit has been the positive impact on the convenience, effectiveness, and cost of managing machine servicing and repairs. With ActiveCare, an artificial intelligence tool monitors all error codes and alarms transmitted from the machines to the cloud. The algorithm sorts through the data, prioritizing the alerts according to urgency and severity, and attributing probable causes.“Now [that] IMK has seen the benefits, we hope that other companies across Southeast Asia will join them in connecting their construction equipment in the fourth industrial revolution,” said the OEM.Image source: Volvo Construction EquipmentSource: https://www.asiaminer.com/news/latest-news/11194-volvo-pushes-automation-in-indonesia.html#.Y3SiZMdByMp