APNI Recommends Relaxation of Nickel Quota by 30 Million Tonnes
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Nickel Miners Association (APNI) has recommended a relaxation of the nickel production quota by 30 million tonnes, adding to the original proposed quota of 270 million tonnes, to anticipate the real needs of smelters.
“Formalising the 2026 RKAB (Work Plan and Budget) quota at the level of 270 million tonnes accompanied by a strategic buffer of 30 million tonnes to anticipate the real needs of smelters,” said APNI Secretary General Meidy Katrin Lengkey in a statement received in Jakarta on Thursday.
She referred to the APNI Indonesian Nickel Industry Report as of 10 August 2026, in which the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources confirmed there would be no general increase in the 2026 RKAB quota from the range of 260–270 million tonnes, a sharp decline from the realisation of 379 million tonnes in 2025.
Quota revisions will only be granted selectively to smelters experiencing raw material shortages. National ore consumption realisation from January to July 2026 was recorded at 142.96 million tonnes, or around 53–55 percent of the quota.
This figure shows a pace that exceeds pro-rata calculations and indicates that the industry’s real needs could potentially approach, or even surpass, the lower limit of the quota before the end of the year.
“RKAB certainty is not merely a quota figure, but rather an instrument to align mine production with the real needs of the processing industry, maintain reserve conservation, and provide business certainty for miners and smelters alike,” said Meidy.
Another recommendation put forward by APNI is the diversification of the sulphur supply chain beyond the Middle East. Meidy highlighted the cost pressure on supporting raw materials, particularly sulphur for MHP production based on HPAL.
The average import price of sulphur surged from 104 US dollars per tonne in the first quarter of 2024 to 817 US dollars per tonne in the second quarter of 2026, even briefly exceeding 1,100 US dollars per tonne in June 2026, with dependence on supply from the Middle East reaching around 80 percent.
This condition, Meidy said, has pushed HPAL operational costs up by more than 30 percent.
“APNI encourages the diversification of the sulphur supply chain beyond the Middle East as well as accelerating the implementation of ESG standards starting from the mine level in accordance with the principle of ‘No ESG, No Market’,” said Meidy.