ESDM Prioritises RKAB Relaxation Only for Compliant Companies
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has stated that the relaxation of the mineral mining Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) will only be prioritised for companies that meet all applicable provisions. The policy is applied selectively to ensure the supply of raw materials for the processing and refining industry (smelters) is maintained without triggering an oversupply that could depress commodity prices.
The Director of Mineral Business Development at the Directorate General of Minerals and Coal (Minerba) of the ESDM Ministry, Cecep Mochammad Yasin, said every application for RKAB relaxation will undergo technical and administrative evaluation. The assessment is based on production capacity, Environmental Impact Analysis (AMDAL) documents, and the adequacy of the company’s reserves.
“The benchmark for the RKAB must be linked to its production capacity, its AMDAL, and also the availability of reserves. That is the benchmark,” Cecep said in Jakarta, Monday (13/7/2026).
He stressed that companies cannot obtain additional production quotas simply by claiming to have large reserves. All reserve data must be supported by documents that meet the provisions, including verification by a competent person. “Sometimes a company claims to have a certain amount of reserves, but from the document side, it is not stated by a competent person, so it does not meet the provisions,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Director General of Minerals and Coal at the ESDM Ministry, Tri Winarno, explained that the RKAB relaxation, particularly for nickel commodities, is not aimed at massively increasing production. Additional quotas are only granted to meet the needs of smelters that are still experiencing a shortage of ore supply. “For nickel, there is no increase, except to catch up for smelters that are still lacking supply. That is all,” said Tri.
According to him, the government is still calculating the real needs of smelters compared to the approved RKAB volume. Thus, any additional production is guaranteed not to be significant. This step is also taken to prevent an oversupply that could potentially depress nickel prices in the market. “The important thing is that there is no oversupply. That is all,” he said.
For coal commodities, Tri added that production relaxation is only given to meet the supply needs of PT PLN (Persero). Member of Commission XII of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Syarif Pasya, assessed that the government’s policy of prioritising RKAB relaxation for companies supplying smelters is the right step. According to him, production structuring through the RKAB is necessary so that more nickel ore is processed domestically, thereby generating higher added value while strengthening the mineral downstreaming programme.