Timah Discloses Profit Projections and Rare Earth Project Update
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The management of PT Timah (Persero) Tbk (TINS) has expressed optimism that net profit in the second half of 2026 could be equal to or even higher than the first half of 2026, in line with tin metal prices that remain strong.
Management also highlighted Presidential Regulation (Perpres) 79/2026 as a trigger for improving tin mining governance from upstream to downstream, which is expected to open up room for production growth of ore, particularly in the Belitung operational area.
In terms of production costs, the company’s cash cost up to the first half of 2026 was recorded at US$22,435 per metric ton. Management projects the cash cost at the end of 2026 will rise to a range of US$23,000–24,000 per metric ton, mainly due to the increase in fuel prices, which has also driven up the cost of raw materials and spare parts. Nevertheless, management affirmed that margins remain protected as the increase in tin selling prices far exceeds the rise in costs.
For the 2026 capex, TIMAH is targeting total capital expenditure of Rp 446 billion, with 90% allocated for production operations and exploration needs, while the remaining 10% constitutes non-routine investment, one of which is the transformation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system from ERP ECC 6 to SAP ERP for S/4HANA.
Management outlined that global tin consumption up to July 2026 was recorded at 179 thousand tonnes, while global production in the first half of 2026 only reached 173 thousand tonnes, reflecting a gap of around 3% between consumption and production. Management projects that tin prices will hold in the range of US$47,000–55,000 per tonne through 2026 and the years beyond, given the absence of significant capacity expansion among the world’s tin producers.
Meanwhile, domestic consumption is said to have not grown significantly and remains in the range of 4,000–5,000 tonnes per year. Management emphasised the importance of encouraging domestic tin mineral industrialisation, not just downstream processing, in order to support the development of industries such as semiconductors, laptops, PCs and mobile phones.
Regarding the rare earth element (REE) project, management stated that the company is still in the research and development stage, with a strategy of seeking technology partners to manage rare earth reserves within the company’s mining permit (IUP) areas, including in Bangka Belitung. There are currently around three prospective partners in the exploratory process, with reserve mapping involving cooperation with PERMINAS and the Mineral Investment Agency under a government mandate. TIMAH is targeting to have a shortlist of rare earth managing partners by 2026. Monetisation of this project will only be discussed after the research process on reserve validation, technology and capital expenditure (CAPEX) is agreed upon jointly with the partner.