Bahlil Changes Reference Prices for Nickel and Other Minerals, Effective 15 April 2026
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, has officially released changes to the regulations regarding the Mineral Reference Price (HPM) for nickel, bauxite, iron, gold and silver metals, tin, copper, manganese, and titanium.
This regulation is contained in Ministerial Decree No. 144.K/MB.01/MEM.B/2026 concerning Amendments to Ministerial Decree No. 266/2025 on Guidelines for Determining Reference Prices for the Sale of Metallic Mineral and Coal Commodities.
The regulation was signed by Minister of ESDM Bahlil Lahadalia on 10 April 2026. “This Ministerial Decree shall come into force on 15 April 2026, with the proviso that if in the future there are any errors in this Ministerial Decree, corrections will be made as appropriate in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” quoting Article 2 of the regulation, Tuesday (14/4/2026).
Quoting the new regulation, there are several changes to the HPM, for example, for the nickel commodity. Here is an example:
Nickel Ore
Formula:
HPM Nickel Ore = [(% Ni * CF Nickel Ore * HMA Nickel) + (% Fe * CF Associated Iron * HMA Iron Ore * 100) + (% Co * CF Associated Cobalt * HMA Cobalt) + (% Cr * CF Associated Chromium * HMA Chromium Ore * 100)] * (1-MC)
Notes:
HPM Nickel Ore is the reference price for metallic minerals in the form of nickel ore in US$/WMT.
% Ni is the Ni content in nickel ore.
% Fe is the Fe content in nickel ore with the provision that associated iron minerals are calculated when Fe content ≤ 35%.
% Co is the Co content in nickel ore with the provision that associated cobalt minerals are calculated when Co content ≥ 0.05%.
% Cr is the Cr content in nickel ore.
CF Nickel Ore is the Corrective Factor for Nickel Ore, which is a percentage value that accommodates the correction value for nickel ore in the HPM Nickel Ore with the provision: a. CF for nickel ore with 1.6% Ni = 30%. b. The CF value will increase or decrease by 1% for every 0.1% increase/decrease in Ni content.
CF Associated Iron is the Corrective Factor for Associated Iron, which is a percentage value that accommodates the correction value for associated iron minerals in the HPM Nickel Ore, set at 30%.
CF Associated Cobalt is the Corrective Factor for Associated Cobalt, which is a percentage value that accommodates the correction value for associated cobalt minerals in the HPM Nickel Ore, set at 30%.
CF Associated Chromium is the Corrective Factor for Associated Chromium, which is a percentage value that accommodates the correction value for associated chromium minerals in the HPM Nickel Ore, set at 10%.
HMA Nickel is the reference mineral price for nickel in the HPM Nickel Ore calculation formula.
HMA Iron Ore is the reference mineral price for iron ore in the HPM Iron Ore calculation formula.
HMA Cobalt is the reference mineral price for cobalt in the HPM Cobalt calculation formula.
HMA Chromium Ore is the reference mineral price for chromium ore in the HPM Chromium Ore calculation formula.
MC (Moisture Content) is the percentage of water content in nickel ore.
Feronickel
Formula:
HPM Feronickel = (% Ni * HMA Nickel) * CF
Notes:
HPM Feronickel is the reference price for metallic minerals in the form of feronickel in US$/DMT.
% Ni is the Ni content in feronickel.
HMA Nickel is the reference mineral price for nickel in the HPM calculation formula.
CF is the Corrective Factor, which is a percentage value that accommodates discounts or premiums based on the quality of the commodity being traded, set at 95%.
Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP)
Formula:
HPM MHP = (% Ni * HMA Nickel * CF Ni) + (% Co * HMA Cobalt * CF Co)
Notes:
HPM MHP is the reference price for metallic minerals in the form of Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) in US$/DMT.
% Ni is the Ni content in MHP.
HMA Nickel is the reference mineral price for nickel in the HPM calculation formula.
CF Ni is the Corrective Factor for nickel, which is a percentage value that accommodates discounts or premiums based on the quality of the nickel commodity being traded, set at 60%.
% Co is the Co content in MHP.
HMA Cobalt is the reference mineral price for cobalt in the HPM calculation formula.
CF Co is the Corrective Factor for cobalt, which is a percentage value that accommodates discounts or premiums based on the quality of the cobalt commodity being traded, set at 100%.
Mixed Sulfide Precipitate (MSP)
Formula:
HPM MSP = (% Ni * HMA Nickel * CF Ni) + (% Co * HMA Cobalt * CF Co)
Notes:
HPM MSP is the reference price for metallic minerals in the form of Mixed Sulfide Precipitate (MSP) in US$/DMT.
% Ni is the Ni content in MSP.
HMA Nickel is the reference mineral price for nickel in the HPM calculation formula.
CF Ni is the Corrective Factor for nickel, which is a percentage value that accommodates discounts or premiums based on the quality of the nickel commodity being traded, set at 65%.
% Co is the Co content in MSP.
HMA Cobalt is the reference mineral price for cobalt in the HPM calculation formula.
CF Co is the Corrective Factor for cobalt, which is a percentage value that accommodates discounts or premiums based on the quality of the cobalt commodity being traded, set at 30%.
Nickel Metal Shot (NMS)
Formula:
HPM NMS = % Ni * HMA Nickel * CF
Notes:
HPM NMS is the reference price for metallic minerals in the form of Nickel Metal Shot (NMS) in US$/DMT.
% Ni is the Ni content in NMS.
HMA Nickel is the reference mineral price for nickel in the HPM calculation formula.
CF is the Corrective Factor, which is a percentage value that accommodates discounts or premiums based on the quality of the commodity being traded, set at 100%.
Nickel Pig Iron (NPI)
Formula:
HPM NPI = % Ni * HMA Nickel * CF
Notes:
HPM NPI is the reference price for metallic minerals in the form of Nickel Pig Iron (NPI) in US$/DMT.
% Ni is the Ni content in NPI.
HMA Nickel is the reference mineral price for nickel in the HPM calculation formula.
CF is the Corrective Factor, which is a percentage value that accommodates discounts or premiums based on the quality of the commodity being traded, set at 95%.