Strong Nations No Longer Defined by Oil and Coal, But by This..
The Mineral Industry Agency (BIMS) assesses that the benchmark for a nation’s strength has shifted from the ownership of fossil commodities such as oil, coal, and gas towards the possession of resources and technology related to rare earth elements (REE).
This shift aligns with the direction of global technological development aimed at building national economic power. Yogi Wibisono Budhi, Deputy for Research and Technology Development at BIM, emphasised the importance of mastering extraction and separation technologies for REE, rather than merely possessing abundant mineral reserves.
“In the past, a country was considered a strong system if it possessed oil, coal, or gas. However, that was then. Moving forward, the shift is that resources related to minerals that can be converted into rare earth elements will become a very important strength to consider,” he stated during an event organised by the Indonesian Mining Experts Association (Perhapi), as reported on Friday (11/9/2026).
The demand for REE minerals is surging alongside the rapid global energy transition. Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that the mineral requirements for electric vehicles are increasing sixfold, while those for onshore wind power plants are jumping ninefold compared to gas-based power systems.
Elements such as neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), and yttrium (Y) are key components in manufacturing permanent magnets for electric vehicle motors and wind turbines.
“Consequently, global competition has shifted from simply having large reserves to how these supply chains can be established,” he explained.
Indonesia itself holds potential for REE from 17 metallic elements, spread across primary and secondary sources in more than 250 coal-fired power plants (PLTU) and electronic waste. Without independent domestic processing, the practice of exporting raw materials only to re-import them as finished products could potentially cause national losses amounting to thousands of trillions of rupiah.
To address this, the agency intends to accelerate research and development in strategic mineral processing technology.
“If we look at the entire chain from upstream to downstream, true downstreaming is actually technological downstreaming. It is not just about bringing or inviting investors to build industries here, but ensuring that the mastery of this technology can truly be achieved by the nation’s own people,” he concluded.