Government Reopens Export Tap for Nickel and Other Minerals
The government has confirmed that exports of mineral commodities such as nickel and tin derivative products can resume from this week. The decision was taken whilst the government finalises a revision of regulations on the governance of mineral exports containing rare earth elements (REE).
Head of the Presidential Staff Office Dudung Abdurachman said exports had been running again since the end of last week after the government coordinated with several relevant agencies.
“From yesterday, if I’m not mistaken, it’s already possible. The ministerial regulation is being revised in parallel,” Dudung said at a press conference at the Presidential Staff Office in Jakarta on Monday (3/8/2026).
Dudung explained that previously there had been doubts from the Directorate General of Customs and Excise at the Ministry of Finance as well as the Attorney General’s Office regarding the implementation of rules on mineral exports containing REE. However, the government decided to reopen the export tap so as not to disrupt the national economy.
“After we communicated, because if these exports were not carried out, hundreds of ships would be delayed, which would also affect economic stability,” he said.
Nevertheless, Dudung stressed that the export ban remains in force for REE as a primary product. Meanwhile, mineral commodities that only contain REE as trace elements can still be exported in accordance with the provisions currently being discussed by the government.
“Rare earth elements in pure form are indeed prohibited. But for derivatives, the content found for example in nickel and tin is always about 0.0-something per cent. Well, that is being discussed today by the Ministry of Economic Affairs,” he said.
Previously, business players in the mining sector urged the government to promptly reopen exports of mineral products held up due to REE content inspections. The absence of regulatory certainty on REE as an associated mineral had hindered exports and triggered major losses for the industry.
Chairman of the Indonesian Nickel Industry Forum (FINI) Arif Perdanakusumah said the REE issue has recently been a major concern for business players because the rules on its governance remain unclear.
“We see this REE issue has been very intensively discussed by business players recently. It is part of governance, but there are still some aspects not yet covered by regulation, which ultimately causes confusion,” Arif said at the CNBC Indonesia Coffee Morning event, quoted on Friday (31/7/2026).
He went on to explain that the nickel industry is currently facing multiple pressures, from the impact of Middle East geopolitics driving up energy and logistics costs, to domestic issues such as higher royalty tariffs, limited ore supply due to RKAB (mineral work plans and budgets), and policies related to REE.
“We are bleeding. From the Middle East geopolitics, we have been extraordinarily affected. The geopolitics there directly impacts the production costs of the industry,” he said.
According to Arif, around 80% of Indonesia’s sulphur needs in 2025 came from the Middle East. When sulphur prices surged from around US$220 per tonne to US$1,200 per tonne, nickel industry production costs rose sharply.
“In 2025, roughly 6 million tonnes of sulphur were imported, with the majority needed by the nickel industry. So besides scarcity, the price rose extraordinarily. In 2025 sulphur was US$220 per tonne; recently the price was already US$1,200 per tonne, and it has eaten up 50 per cent,” he said.
On the other hand, REE-related policies have also disrupted export activity. Based on the latest data, around 120 ships have been unable to sail because they could not leave port.