President Director of State-owned tin miner PT Timah, Restu Widiyantoro, has acknowledged that the slow progress of the company’s rare earth elements (REE) project stems primarily from technological limitations. 

The state-owned enterprise has held the mandate to develop REEs for over a decade, but efforts have been hindered by a lack of access to processing technology.

“We admit that progress has been very limited because only one or two parties in the world possess the necessary technology. We’ve attempted communication and collaboration, but to this day, we have not been able to obtain the technology,” Restu told a hearing with Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

He expressed hope for broader support to help PT Timah secure the technology needed to process REEs. According to Restu, while some parties have offered to supply equipment, they do not possess the core processing technology.

“As far as we know, only China and Kazakhstan have the capability to process REEs into materials suitable for nuclear power applications. We plan to accelerate research and initiate communications, including signing MOUs with these countries,” he added.

PT Timah’s Director of Operations, Nur Adi Kuncoro, confirmed ongoing communications with several technology suppliers.

“We’ve been engaging with LCM, SRE, SREC, and Taza Metal to continue discussions aimed at producing REEs,” he said.

One of the key REEs found within PT Timah’s mining areas is monazite sand. Based on company studies, Adi revealed that there is an estimated potential of 25,700 tons of monazite across the Bangka Belitung region.

“This is a resource we need to further evaluate to upgrade it into confirmed reserves,” he said.

Monazite sand contains five valuable rare earth oxides: Cerium Oxide, Lanthanum Oxide, Neodymium Oxide, Yttrium Oxide, and Praseodymium Oxide.

“These metals hold considerable value, and their concentration in monazite ranges from 3 percent to 35 percent,” Adi cited.

PT Timah is currently running a pilot project on REEs in Tanjung Ular, West Bangka, Bangka Belitung. This initiative involves revitalization efforts aimed at extracting economically viable REEs from monazite, marking a significant step toward tapping into Indonesia’s rare earth potential.