BKPM: Bauxite Downstreaming Investment Soars 193% in Q2 2026

Investment Minister and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Rosan Roeslani stated that realised investment in bauxite downstreaming increased by 193 percent to Rp40.1 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, compared to Rp13.7 trillion in the previous quarter. This value makes bauxite the commodity with the largest downstreaming investment realisation in the second quarter of 2026, displacing nickel which has traditionally dominated the mineral processing sector. “If we look, nickel is usually number one. Now, there is a shift, bauxite is number one, because there are several bauxite developments, both by domestic and foreign investors, so bauxite has taken the top spot from nickel for the first time,” Rosan said in an official statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday. The figure surpassed nickel downstreaming investment, which was recorded at Rp29.4 trillion, followed by copper at Rp16.7 trillion, iron and steel at Rp13.2 trillion, silica sand at Rp4 trillion, and other commodities such as tin, gold, silver, cobalt, manganese, coal, Buton asphalt, and rare earth metals totalling Rp4.7 trillion. Overall, downstreaming investment realisation in the second quarter of 2026 reached Rp152.7 trillion, an increase of 5.7 percent compared to the same period the previous year, and contributed 29.8 percent to the total national investment realisation of Rp511.8 trillion. According to Rosan, the increase was driven by the construction of several bauxite processing and refining facilities (smelters) by both domestic and foreign investors. He added that this shift indicates that national downstreaming is beginning to develop more evenly and is no longer solely dependent on the nickel industry. He stated that the increase in downstreaming investment not only creates industrial added value but also has an impact on employment. BKPM recorded that investment realisation during January to June 2026 absorbed 1,448,862 workers, an increase of approximately 15 percent compared to the same period last year. “And in the second quarter alone, employment absorption was 742,263 people, an increase of 5.1 percent,” Rosan revealed. One of the bauxite processing projects supporting national downstreaming development is the Smelter Grade Alumina Refinery (SGAR) Phase I in Mempawah, West Kalimantan, developed by the MIND ID group through PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) together with PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam). The facility has a production capacity of one million tonnes of alumina per year with a raw material requirement of approximately 3.3 million tonnes of bauxite annually to strengthen the national aluminium industry supply chain.