PT Timah targets 30,000-tonne reserve increase by 2026
Jakarta (ANTARA) - PT Timah (Persero) Tbk is targeting an increase in tin reserves of approximately 30,000 tonnes by 2026 to replace depletion caused by production activities and to maintain the continuity of the company’s operations.
Harry Budi Sidharta, Director of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at PT Timah, stated that increasing resources and reserves is a primary focus in the company’s strategy to enhance operations and production.
“With the target of achieving a reserve increase of 30,000 tonnes, this will at least replace or match the results of depletion. This maintains the sustainability of the company’s production,” Harry said during the 2026 Public Expose Live held online in Jakarta on Thursday.
As of the first semester of 2026, PT Timah recorded tin mineral resources of 798,000 tonnes of Sn and tin mineral reserves of 312,000 tonnes of Sn. To strengthen these resources and reserves, the company is conducting both land and sea exploration activities.
In the company’s presentation, activities conducted in 202ability included geological surveys covering 3,216 hectares, geophysical surveys spanning 76 kilometres, and topographic surveys covering 17,638 hectares. The company also recorded exploration drilling of 41,104 metres and pilot drilling of 12,971 metres as part of its strategy to increase resources and reserves.
Ilhamsyah Mahendra, Director of Production and Commercial at PT Timah, stated that exploration is the priority for 2026 as it is the initial stage for discovering new resources and reserves.
“Mining efforts begin with exploration activities, which are currently the priority in 2026. This will then be followed by the tin mineral mining process itself,” said Ilhamsyah.
In addition to exploration, the company is beginning to focus on primary tin processing and optimising production through the addition of working equipment, increased equipment productivity, and the accelerated opening of new mining sites. Since July and August 2026, PT Timah has added four production suction dredger units to support the achievement of operational targets until the end of the year. Additional working equipment has also been deployed in several land mining areas.
“We hope to maximise the addition of working equipment and also increase the productivity of our mining equipment until the end of the year,” said Ilhamsyah.
Separate from the reserve increase target, the 2026 Corporate Working Plan and Budget (RKAP) sets a tin ore production target of 30,000 tonnes of Sn. In the first semester of 2026, the company’s tin ore production reached 12,232 tonnes of Sn, a 75 per cent increase compared to the same period the previous year. Tin metal production reached 10,865 metric tonnes, growing by 58 per cent year-on-year.
Ilhamsyah noted that the company remains on track toward the operational and production targets set for this year after implementing several improvements to operational fundamentals and processing and refining infrastructure. For 2027, he mentioned that the company’s operational and production targets would be roughly the same as 2026. However, the focus remains directed towards increasing resources and reserves to ensure the sustainability of operations and business.
In addition to primary tin, the company is also developing the potential for rare earth metals from tin by-products, such as monazite. This development is currently in the technological assessment stage in collaboration with several partners.