State-owned mining company PT Antam is planning to build a precious metal factory at the Java Integrated Industrial and Ports Estate (JIIPE) in Gresik, East Java as part of the efforts to support downstreaming of mineral industry in Indonesia, while utilizing integrated infrastructure of the industrial estate.
“JIIPE’s status as a national vital object provides an extraordinary level of security to support our operational processes, from raw material processing to distribution. This is one of our main considerations in choosing this location,” I Dewa Wirantaya, Antam’s Director for Business Development, said on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
He cited that the presence of PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PTFI) copper processing and refining facility (smelter) provides additional benefits for Antam. Through this facility, it provides direct access to 99.99 percent pure gold raw materials.
“Antam can save the country’s foreign exchange by reducing imports and increasing the use of domestic products,” he said.
Collaboration with PTFI
Antam previously purchased 30 tons of gold from PTFI’s factory in Gresik worth US$12.5 billion (Rp195.7 trillion) in order to encourage 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 Indonesia’s state-owned mining holding company, PT Mineral Industri Indonesia (MIND ID), said that the collaboration between the two companies (PTFI-ANTAM) has an impact on saving the country’s foreign exchange.
Through this cooperation, the country does not need to import Antam’s precious metal raw materials. That way, Indonesia can enjoy the results of its own natural resources from raw materials to finished products.
“From raw materials to finished products in the form of half a gram to even one kilogram,” Hendi said on November 7, 2024.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Yuliot Tanjung, said, this synergy is a collaboration between subsidiaries under MIND ID. He considered PTFI to produce gold that was absorbed by ANTAM as a supplier of industrial needs.
He cited that this collaboration will have a positive impact on the national economy because previously ANTAM had to import gold worth US$12 billion (Rp188.46 trillion).
“With the supply from PT Freeport Indonesia, our foreign exchange will not need to go out,” Yuliot said.
