Video: ESDM Explains Three Reasons for Cutting Coal-Nickel Production Quotas
Video: ESDM Explains Three Reasons for Cutting Coal-Nickel Production Quotas
Jakarta — CNBC Indonesia, in Mining Forum 2026 with the theme ‘What is the State of Indonesia’s Mining Industry?’, hosted a strategic dialogue bringing together regulators, policymakers, industry leaders and stakeholders.
Deputy Chairman for Law and Tax at the Indonesia Mining Association (IMA), Ezra Sibarani, told Mining Forum 2026 of several developments in the country’s mining sector. One issue attracting the attention of mining operators is the trimming of the production targets for mining commodities in the RKAB 2026.
RKAB 2026 sets coal production at a target of 600 million tonnes, down from 790 million tonnes in 2025, while nickel production is targeted at 260-270 million tonnes, far below the RKAB 2025 target of 379 million tonnes.
The cut in coal production has caused a shock to miners, as the decrease is sizeable and the criteria for setting it are not disclosed. Miners, meanwhile, have already prepared investments to maximise production and in relation to commitments with customers, meaning RKAB 2026 will disrupt targets and cause losses.
Meanwhile, Irwandy Arif, Chairman of the Indonesia Mining Institute, said the mining sector faces a number of headwinds, including the U.S.-Indonesia trade agreement and the European Union’s stance on critical minerals, the Nickel Passport Obligation, price downturn cycles, and the abrupt RKAB quota policy with spillover effects from the US-Iran conflict.
Irwandy Arif assessed that the minerals and mining sector faces short- and medium-term pressures, hence policies are needed to bolster structural strength and transparency; otherwise the mining sector could face a transition towards a crisis.
Echoing IMA, the Executive Director of the Indonesia Coal Mining Association (APBI), Gita Mahyarani, said the lack of clarity around the RKAB 2026 policy has persisted for a month, with miners not receiving clarity on production quotas and quota cuts for APBI members amounting to 40-80% without explanations or reasons for the reductions.
Meanwhile, the Chair of the Indonesian Mining Experts Association (Perhapi), Sudirman Widhy, said that the reduction in RKAB 2026 production quotas disrupts long-term mine planning. This matters because it affects production and the financial capacity of mines and could lead to mineworkers being laid off.
Uncertainty about mine production was also cited by Ahmad Kharis, Vice Chairman of I ASPINDO, who warned it could affect mining services businesses since 85% of mining work is undertaken by ASPINDO. If coal production in 2026 falls by 25%, then 25% of mining equipment and personnel may be idle. Moreover, the uncertainty over production quotas could affect bank and multifinance financing, thereby disrupting finances.
Regarding RKAB 2026, the Secretary of the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Siti Sumilah Rita Susilawati, representing the Dirjen Minerba Tri Winarno, said that RKAB 2026 is not a production cap but an arrangement/adjustment of production. The policy relates to three matters: the imbalance between supply and demand that is depressing prices, particularly nickel, maintaining price stability, and safeguarding the country’s mineral reserves.
Meanwhile, Herry Permana, Assistant Deputy for Mineral and Coal Development at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, representing Deputy for Energy and Mineral Resources Coordination Elen Setiadi, said that the RKAB 2026 policy relates to energy security and Indonesia’s downstream development.
On the other hand, Bambang Patijaya, Chair of Commission XII of the DPR, said that the RKAB 2026 policy is a new policy with pros and cons. The production quota adjustment is not a production cap for coal and nickel but is intended to safeguard the sustainability of Indonesia’s mineral resources and mining sector and should be supported.
The RKAB 2026 controversy at the start of 2026, according to Ferry Dwi Nugraha, Chair of the Primary Energy Value Chain Committee of the Indonesian Private Power Producers Association (APLSI), has disrupted coal supply to power plants with reduced supply as miners delay shipments due to the production quota uncertainty.
For full details, see the dialogue between Shafinaz Nachiar Afinaz Nachiar with the IMA’s Deputy Chairman for Law and Tax Ezra Sibarani and the Chairman of the Indonesia Mining Institute, Irwandy Arif, with the Executive Director of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI), Gita Mahyarani, as well as the Chair of Perhapi Sudirman Widhy with the Vice Chairman of I ASPINDO, Ahmad Kharis, and the Secretary of the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal, ESDM, Siti Sumilah Rita Susilawati, with the Assistant Deputy for Mineral and Coal Development at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Herry Permana, and the Chair of Commission XII, Bambang Patijaya, and the Vice Chairman of the Primary Energy Value Chain Committee of the Indonesian Private Power Producers Association (APLSI), Ferry Dwi Nugraha, in Mining Forum 2026, CNBC Indonesia (Friday, 6 March 2026).