State-Owned Perminas Begins Rare Earth Exploration After Securing Permit
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — PT Perusahaan Mineral Nasional (Perminas) has secured an Exploration Mining Business Permit (IUP) for rare earth elements (REE) in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM).
The state-owned mining company has begun exploration to reassess the resource and reserve potential in the concession area.
Perminas Technology and Business Development Director La Ode Tarfin Jaya said the exploration permit was issued in July 2026, followed by approval of the exploration Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) in August 2026.
Exploration is currently focused on two blocks, each covering 100 hectares, for a total of 200 hectares.
“ For Mamuju, we have received an Exploration IUP from the government, in this case the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources through the Directorate General of Minerals and Coal. The permit was issued in July, followed by approval of the exploration RKAB in August. We are exploring around two blocks, each of approximately 100 hectares, or 200 hectares in total,” he said on the sidelines of the 2026 Minerba Convention & Exhibition (Convex) at JIExpo on Tuesday (3 November 2026).
In-fill drilling in Mamuju has so far reached about 10 per cent, with 72 of the 200 planned boreholes completed at 50-by-50-metre spacing. The close-spaced drilling is intended to provide more detail and refine the results of earlier scout drilling conducted by the Geological Agency.
“We are now carrying out close-spaced in-fill drilling across the 200 hectares. We are currently at about 10 per cent, having completed 72 points at 50-by-50-metre spacing. This is necessary to provide more detail on the work previously carried out by the Geological Agency,” he added.
The official estimate of the REE resource and reserves is expected to be completed next year, after all 200 boreholes have been drilled and evaluated. The REE deposit in Mamuju is characterised as primary ion-adsorption clay, a type also found at Bayan Obo in China, in Myanmar and at Caldeira in Brazil.
“Mamuju’s REE is the ion-adsorption clay type. It is the same type as, for example, Bayan Obo in China, or deposits in Myanmar and Caldeira in Brazil; it is a primary rare earth deposit,” he explained.
Perminas manages a total of 7,300 hectares of REE concession area in Mamuju, divided into two blocks.
In addition to the Mamuju project, Perminas, which is under BPI Danantara, is coordinating closely and conducting joint research with PT Timah on recovering REE from processing residues and tin slag.
“We are waiting. What is clear is that Mamuju covers 7,300 hectares across two blocks. If the government assigns us further work, our team is ready; that is our principle,” he concluded.