The Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) reported substantial mineral and coal resources in Indonesia for 2023, emphasizing the country’s significant deposits.
According to the national balance of mineral and coal resources and reserves, Indonesia boasts 17.3 billion tons of nickel ore resources and 174.2 million tons of nickel metal resources.
“With a total ore reserve of 5 billion tons,” Moehamad Awaludin, Chairman of the Prospective and Evaluation Team for Mineral Resources and Reserves (PSDMBP), said during the 2023 Activity Results Colloquium on Thursday, August 1, 2024.
The Geological Agency recorded nickel production in 2023 at 175 million tons. Awaludin highlighted that this balance serves as a comprehensive dataset detailing the remaining quantities of minerals and metals in Indonesia.
The balance is formalized in the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Decree No. 132.KG/L.01/MEM.G/2024, issued on June 19, 2024.
This decree lists 29 types of minerals containing metals, including bauxite, tin, copper, gold, rare earth metals, and nickel.
“These figures are reference points for monitoring the development of various resources,” Awaludin said.
He said further that currently this balance represents 67 percent of the total mineral data available in the field.
Awaludin added, “For metals, we have recorded 960 IUPs, covering only about 67 percent. Specifically for nickel, only 54 percent percent have reported their data to us, derived from exploration reports, MS reports, and RKAB reports.”
The following are the detailed resource and reserve balances for several key minerals:
Nickel
- Ore resources: 17.3 billion tons;
- Metal resources: 174.2 million tons;
- Ore reserves: 5 billion tons;
- Metal reserves: 55 million tons;
- 2023 Production: 175 million tons.
Primary Gold
- Ore resources: 16.4 billion tons;
- Metal resources: 12.2 thousand tons;
- Ore reserves: 3.8 billion tons;
- Metal reserves: 3.3 thousand tons;
- 2023 Production: 69 tons (metal).
Copper
- Ore resources: 15.8 billion tons;
- Metal resources: 66.1 million tons;
- Ore reserves: 3 billion tons;
- Metal reserves: 20.2 million tons;
- 2023 Production: 132 million tons.
Tin
- Ore resources: 7.3 billion tons;
- Metal resources: 2.5 million tons;
- Ore reserves: 6.9 billion tons;
- Metal reserves: 2.2 million tons;
- 2023 Production: 67 thousand tons.
Bauxite
- Ore resources: 6.2 billion tons;
- Metal resources: 1.1 billion tons;
- Ore reserves: 3.1 billion tons;
- Metal reserves: 533 million tons;
- 2023 Production: 7 million tons.
Rare Earth Metals
- Ore resources: 136 million tons;
- Metal resources: 118 thousand tons.
This report underscores the vast mineral wealth of Indonesia and the importance of strategic management to ensure sustainable exploitation and economic benefit.
