Prabowo Says Five Mining Permits Hold Reserves Worth Rp5,400 Trillion

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — President Prabowo Subianto said he had recently received a report that five mining business permits (IUPs) hold proven reserves. Their value could reach US$300 billion, or around Rp5,400 trillion.

“Out of several hundred IUPs, five have proven reserves, based on reserve studies under the JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee) standard, valued at Rp5,400 trillion, or US$300 billion across five concessions. Don’t applaud too soon, because that wealth is still underground,” Prabowo said at the 2026 National Coordination Meeting of the Regional Financial Access Acceleration Team (TPAKD) at the JIEXPO Convention Centre on Thursday (22 October 2026).

Prabowo said Indonesia was a resource-rich country, and that the central and regional governments now needed to take responsibility for its natural resources and its people.

“When we talk about government, we must talk about our responsibility to the people. The government works for the people, so we must not hand out concessions too readily,” he said.

He also urged his administration to be thorough when awarding mining concessions, which should go only to parties with the genuine capacity to operate them.

“The problem is that many concessions have been granted and left untouched for decades. This is what we are putting in order. Perhaps in the past certain businesspeople speculatively asked for concessions, despite not being mining experts or understanding mining operations. They were given the concessions and used them, perhaps for speculation or to put them on the stock market. Ultimately, as a nation, we lose when they are left undeveloped for decades,” Prabowo said.