ESDM Approves 664 Mineral and Coal Mining Work Plans as of 12 June

The Directorate General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has approved 664 mining work plan and budget documents (RKAB) as of 12 June 2026. Director General of Mineral and Coal Tri Winarno stated that the ministry continues to conduct corrections and evaluations of submitted documents to ensure mining activities proceed according to plan and adhere to the principles of good mining governance. Each approval is granted only after all required aspects have been declared compliant. Meanwhile, a number of other applications remain in the evaluation stage, pending document completeness and fulfilment of applicable requirements. The government ensures that all processes are carried out professionally, transparently, and accountably to guarantee mining activities comply with regulations and support the sustainable management of mineral and coal resources. The regulation of RKAB has been strengthened through Government Regulation Number 39 of 2025 and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 17 of 2025. All RKAB submissions are now conducted electronically via the integrated e-RKAB information system as part of the digital transformation of mineral and coal governance. Under this policy, the RKAB matrix has been simplified to three matrices for the exploration stage and ten matrices for the production operation stage. The simplification does not reduce oversight of mining safety aspects, fulfilment of Non-Tax State Revenue obligations, use of mining services, community development and empowerment programmes, or reclamation obligations. Tri explained that other matrices no longer in use have been transferred into periodic realisation reporting matrices. For business entities whose RKAB documents still require improvement, the government provides the opportunity to make corrections according to the applicable mechanism. Tri added that if there are still aspects needing improvement, companies are given room to complete them, and the ministry continues to provide assistance through coaching clinics so that companies understand the aspects that need adjustment to ensure their documents meet the requirements. Hundreds of coaching sessions have been conducted, and based on evaluation results, several aspects still requiring refinement include exploration data and reserve resources, mining and overburden disposal plans, processing and refining aspects, marketing plans, and company legal completeness.