State-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), a company incorporated in the holding company PT Mineral Industri Indonesia (MIND ID), has planned to explore and acquire gold mines, both domestically and abroad.
Currently, Antam has studied various prospects related to the acquisition of domestic gold mines. However, the company has not been able to divulge which mining areas will be acquired.
“We cannot say the area yet, it is in Indonesia. When it is called a corporate action, we cannot say everything,” Abdul Bari, General Manager of Antam, said on Monday, November 25, 2024.
Previously, Antam has signed an agrement to purchase 30 tons of gold from PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) factory in Gresik, East Java, worth US$12.5 billion (Rp195.7 trillion).
This was done to encourage the downstreaming and industrialization of natural resource-based mining, which are part of the 17 priority programs of the government.
Hendi Prio Santoso, President Director of MIND ID, said that the synergy between the two companies has an impact on saving the country’s foreign exchange.
This is because the country does not need to import Antam’s precious metal raw materials. That way, the Indonesian people can enjoy the results of their own natural resources from raw materials to finished products.
“From raw materials to finished products ranging from half a gram to even one kilogram,” Hendi said on Thursday, November 7, 2024.
He said the agreemt is proof of the results of the government’s intensified downstreaming program. He considered that as a holding, MIND ID would encourage synergy between subsidiaries and would be an example in encouraging mining downstreaming.
Yuliot Tanjung, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), said that this synergy was a collaboration between subsidiaries under MIND ID. He considered that PTFI produces gold which is absorbed by Antam as a supplier of industrial needs.
This collaboration can have a positive impact on the national economy, considering that previously Antam had to import gold worth US$12 billion (Rp188.46 trillion).
“Of course, with the supply of Freeport Indonesia, which we previously imported, it means that foreign exchange does not need to go out,” Yuliot said on Thursday, November 7, 2024.
