MIND ID Chief Reveals Five Major Challenges Facing the Mining Sector
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Mining industry holding company MIND ID sees the future management of mineral and coal resources facing increasingly complex challenges.
Nevertheless, the sector still holds significant opportunities for development to ensure that Indonesia’s natural resource wealth delivers optimal added value for the state and society.
MIND ID Chief Executive Maroef Sjamsoeddin said these challenges must be anticipated through more integrated, innovative and sustainable resource management strategies.
“MIND ID sees that the future management of mineral and coal resources faces increasingly complex challenges. However, there are also development opportunities to ensure that Indonesia’s natural resource wealth delivers the greatest possible added value for the state and society,” Maroef said during a working meeting with Commission XII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Tuesday (15/9/2026).
Maroef outlined at least five main issues that MIND ID is focused on in developing the mining sector going forward.
First, reserve sustainability and operational challenges. In managing its core commodities, MIND ID faces a number of problems, ranging from reserve sustainability and commodity price volatility to inconsistent implementation of domestic market obligation (DMO) requirements.
In addition, rising operating costs, land acquisition and overlapping land issues, illegal mining activities, and the need for reliable and competitive energy sources are among the challenges that must be addressed.
Second, the management of mining residual products, or SHP, should be viewed not merely as an environmental issue but also as a potential resource that can be utilised again through technology and the circular economy.
Third, optimising added value in the coal sector. For coal, Indonesia still holds substantial resources that can be developed to generate higher added value.
“The challenge is that these still-large resources can yield higher added value, including managing low-calorie coal and its processing residues,” he said.
Fourth, Indonesia needs to promote the use of strategic minerals to strengthen national industry. Downstream development in future must not stop at intermediate or midstream products, but must be directed towards materials and products with higher added value needed by national and global industry.
Fifth, all of this development must proceed in step with environmental protection, community interests, good governance, and sustainability.
Therefore, for MIND ID, the major agenda is to build an increasingly integrated national mineral and coal value chain from upstream to downstream.
“To realise this, synergy is needed between state-owned enterprises, the government, the DPR as the legislature, the business community, and research institutions so that Indonesia’s mineral and coal wealth truly becomes the foundation for industrialisation, economic resilience, and the creation of national added value,” he said.