Spokesman of the ESDM ministry, Agus Cahyono Adi, said that ESDM Minister Arifin Tasrif and members of Commision VII of the House Representatives (DPR) have agreed to review a possible export relaxation of bauxites ores.

"We have not decided to open the opportunity for export relaxation, it was just last week," Agus said on Friday, July 12, 2024.

He cited that the government had given three years of export relaxation for bauxite ores before President Joko Widodo banned it starting June 2023 as part of
the efforts to encourage the downstream industry and add value to Indonesia’s economic resources.

"We had given them the opportunity for three years, based on the Law on Mineral and Coal," he said.

Government, Agus added, is studying whether it is enough or not for bauxite mining companies to save enough money to build a smelter from exporting bauxite ores
for three years.

As previously reported, a member of Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) has asked the ESDM ministry to grant export relaxation for several minerals products that have not completed the construction of smelter especially for bauxites.

“In this case, our understanding is that the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has given policy space for copper, in this case Freeport and Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara,” Legislator Maman Abdurahman said on Thursday, July 11, 2024.

President Joko Widodo officially banned the export of bauxite ore starting June 2023 as part of the efforts to encourage the downstream industry and add value to Indonesia’s economic resources.

Maman Adurahman told a discussion between the minister and members of the House that both parties open up opportunities for export relaxation to several mineral products that have not been able to build smelters.

“We still open the opportunity for several producers of mineral products that have not been able to build smelters. That’s why it is called certain metal minerals. This means that space is given to our colleague at the ministry to be able to classify, which minerals that can still be opened for export,” he said.