PT Timah Prepares 40-Hectare Site for Rare Earth Element Development

Jakarta - PT Timah Tbk (TINS) has prepared a 40-hectare site in the Tanjung Ular area, West Bangka, to develop a rare earth element (REE) downstream industry. Vice President Director Harry Budi Sidharta explained that the company is planning to reactivate an existing pilot project at the location. He said the land will be utilised in stages alongside ongoing research and mineral purification technology assessments. “Tanjung Ular is actually quite large, around 40 hectares, but we probably won’t use all of it at once—it will be gradual. We actually already have a pilot project in Tanjung Ular, which we will likely reactivate,” he stated during a media discussion in Jakarta on Thursday (11/6/2026). The company plans to cooperate with PT Perminas, the state-owned enterprise navigating national REE processing. TINS will be responsible for the mining process and supplying raw materials, while the construction of purification facilities will be executed by other parties on the provided land. “The Perminas team and technology provider can build the purification facility next to our facility in Bangka. We will then make payments for the purification services based on volume,” he added. The company will not need to allocate capital expenditure for constructing the purification plant. TINS will only pay processing service fees to Perminas based on the volume of minerals purified before the rare earth products are ready for commercial marketing. “So from mining until it becomes rare earth elements, it is all under Timah. We have met with the prospective technology provider and reviewed their recovery percentages, and it looks promising,” he affirmed. Previously, TINS President Director Restu Widiyantoro explained that the collaboration between TINS and Perminas covers two main schemes for dividing mineral supply chain roles. The company will act as a supplier of raw materials derived from tin production residue for Perminas to process into derivative products. “PT Timah has been tasked with being the supplier for REE materials or SHP. The production residue from tin becomes the main material for Perminas, which will then process it into downstream products,” he stated during a hearing with House of Representatives Commission XII, quoted on Thursday (16/4/2026). The development plan is projected to contribute foreign exchange earnings for the country within the next two years. The government previously scheduled the groundbreaking for the REE research and industrial facility on 20 May 2026. “This cooperation is programmed so that monetisation is expected to occur within two years, producing products that can generate foreign exchange for the state,” he continued. Restu assessed that the assignment to manage REE represents a significant leap for the company to boost revenue beyond its core tin business. The company has already begun stockpiling production residue raw materials to supply Perminas. “We have achieved a considerable leap because with this programme, we are aiming to secure revenue or profit far greater than before. This is what we hope for,” he concluded.