Get Ready: Indonesia to Begin Construction of Rare Earth Metals Factory on 20 May 2026

PT Timah (Persero) Tbk (TINS) has announced that Indonesia will soon begin construction or groundbreaking for a rare earth metals (LTJ) processing plant on 20 May 2026. This factory for the globally sought-after mineral is part of directives from President Prabowo Subianto. Timah’s President Director, Restu Widiyantoro, explained that for this project, PT Timah will partner with Perminas. Perminas will act as the off-taker, as well as the entity responsible for processing and downstreaming the rare earth metals. “PT Timah has been tasked with supplying the REE or SHP materials. The by-products from tin production will serve as the main raw material for Perminas, which will then process them into derivative products,” Restu stated during a Hearing with Commission XII of the House of Representatives on Monday (13/4/2026). According to Restu, this partnership is targeted for swift realisation to accelerate monetisation. At the latest, within two years after construction begins, the plant could be operational. “It will be able to produce products that generate foreign exchange for the country. Roughly like that; we can’t report in detail yet because this programme only started about 1.5 or 2 months ago, so it’s still under study by PT Timah and Perminas,” he said. The economic value of tin by-product minerals has the potential to increase by tens of times if successfully processed into high-value products, such as for power plants, solar energy, and electric vehicle raw materials. “We report that on 20 May, groundbreaking will be conducted for the rare earth mineral research and production facility. The roadmap is leading up to 20 May, which is planned to be inaugurated by the President,” he added.