Global Gold Demand Rises, State Mining Firms Urged to Boost Production
State-owned gold mining companies are being urged to increase their production capacity amid the ongoing trend of rising global gold demand that continues to break records. Analyst Herry Gunawan, who is also the Director of NEXT Indonesia Center, views this momentum as an opportunity for state mining firms to strengthen profits while improving the national gold trade balance.
According to Herry, the surge in global gold demand serves as a positive signal for the national gold mining industry. The rise in gold prices accompanying the increased demand can drive domestic production expansion.
“When demand for gold is high, it certainly becomes a positive sentiment for state-owned gold mining firms. Such conditions will drive price increases. Therefore, boosting production is very important,” he stated in Jakarta, quoted on Thursday (7/5/2026).
Based on World Gold Council data, total global gold demand in the first quarter of 2026, including over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, rose 2% year-on-year to 1,231 tonnes. Amid the surge in gold prices, the quarterly demand value jumped 74% to a new record of $193 billion.
Demand for gold bars and coins also increased sharply to 474 tonnes, up 42%. This achievement marks the second-highest quarter in history, with Asian investors as the main drivers through purchases of various gold investment products.
Herry sees this situation providing two strategic benefits for Indonesia. Besides opening opportunities for increased profits for state mining firms, boosting national gold production can also help reduce pressure from the gold trade deficit.
Since 2021, Indonesia has recorded a gold trade deficit and holds the status of a net importer. This condition is triggered by imports exceeding exports to meet domestic market needs.
As national gold needs increase, PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam), a member of the MIND ID Group, has begun strengthening its precious metal processing capacity domestically. One such effort is the construction of a gold bullion manufacturing plant in Gresik.
Antam is building a facility with a production capacity of up to 30 tonnes per year. The presence of this plant will add to Antam’s gold bar production capacity in Pulogadung, Jakarta, which currently stands at 40 tonnes per year.
In the national supply chain, supplies of gold bars come from Antam’s gold mine in West Java, around 1 tonne per year, as well as the Precious Metal Refinery (PMR) of PT Freeport Indonesia, which can process anode slime into gold bars at around 50 to 60 tonnes per year.
Through an increasingly integrated industrial supply chain, the Government together with the MIND ID Group is strengthening the national bullion ecosystem to meet domestic precious gold needs, estimated at around 70 tonnes per year and continuing to rise.