Rare Earth 'Treasure' Found Beyond Bangka Belitung, Says Lawmaker

A ‘rare treasure’ in the form of rare earth minerals is apparently not only located in Bangka Belitung, which has long been known as a tin producer.

Chairman of Commission XII of the House of Representatives, Bambang Patijaya, explained that rare earth minerals in Bangka Belitung are generally found as associated minerals from tin mining activities. The processing yields several other minerals, including xenotime and monazite, which contain rare earth elements.

“So the story is that rare earth minerals are usually the grandchildren of the main mineral,” he told CNBC Indonesia some time ago.

It turns out that rare earth minerals are not only in Bangka Belitung; they may also be present in other regions of Indonesia. Rare earth minerals as a primary mineral are potentially located in Sulawesi.

“There, the Mineral Industry Agency has also obtained, or Permina rather, has obtained an IUP from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources related to rare earth minerals. So there, they say, there is an area where when mining is carried out, rare earth minerals are obtained directly as the main mineral. Whatever the case, the point is we have them,” Bambang said.

Rare earth minerals are often referred to as one of the strategic minerals of the future, as they are needed in various strategic industries. Bambang echoed this, stating that these components are important for various sectors, such as telecommunications, advanced technology, and the defence and security industry.

“Yes, so rare earth minerals are the minerals of the future. They have been used recently in various contemporary technologies, both for telecommunications, then other technologies, including defence and security technology,” said Bambang.