BKPM Pushes Gold Downstreaming to Support High-Value Industries
The Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM is encouraging the strengthening of gold downstreaming in Indonesia so that the commodity’s utilisation is not limited to jewellery and investment, but also supports high-value-added industries. Deputy for Investment Downstreaming Heldy Satrya Putera stated that gold usage in Indonesia is still dominated by jewellery and investment needs, despite its significant potential as a raw material for various technology industries. “We actually use or utilise gold, process it, only for one thing: jewellery. Secondly, we process it only for investment purposes because we want to store the gold. We also produce bullion in Indonesia, which in many other countries is used for reserves and so on,” Heldy said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He explained that gold is also used in the electronics industry, including in the production of semiconductors. Although the volume of gold required for this sector is not as large as other raw materials, its utilisation holds strategic value for the development of the technology industry. Heldy added that the government continues to strive to ensure the availability of domestic raw materials to provide certainty for investors looking to build downstream industries in Indonesia.
With adequate raw material availability, domestic gold processing is expected to generate greater added value while strengthening the national industrial ecosystem. Strengthening downstreaming is also part of the government’s efforts to enhance the utilisation of Indonesia’s mineral resources, ensuring they do not stop at mining activities and raw material exports.
MIND ID Supports Foreign Exchange Reserve Strengthening
Meanwhile, MIND ID President Director Maroef Sjamsoeddin expressed support for strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserves through domestic gold production, in line with Bank Indonesia’s policies. “Gold is a domestic product that has the potential to become a strategic asset supporting the strengthening of national foreign exchange reserves,” Maroef said at the MINDialogue event in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He noted that domestic gold production holds not only economic value as a commodity but also the potential to become a strategic asset for the national economy. The downstreaming push also follows President Prabowo Subianto’s announcement of the discovery of gold and other mineral deposits in the mountains of Papua. The findings came from a cross-agency expedition led by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), involving several universities and supported by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI).
“Our scientific expedition has just been working, if I’m not mistaken, for two or three weeks in the Papuan mountains. The BRIN team, together with several universities and assisted by the TNI, discovered gold reserves and very large mineral reserves,” President Prabowo said during the launch of the B50 mandate in Karawang, West Java, on Thursday. The President called on all parties to build optimism regarding Indonesia’s natural resource potential and economic future. The strengthening of gold downstreaming is expected to be a strategic step to optimise the country’s mineral resource potential, create domestic added value, and support the development of the national manufacturing and technology industries.