Feb 16 Indonesia will review rules banning exports of partially processed metal ores, including copper and zinc, as the smelters they were intended to develop have not materialized amid low commodity prices, the country’s mining minister said Tuesday.
Indonesia banned metal ore exports in early 2014 to encourage firms to build smelters to create jobs and shift exports from raw materials to higher-value finished metals. However, the ban cost the country, the world’s top nickel ore exporter and a major supplier of bauxite for aluminum, billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Since the ban, many of Indonesia’s nickel and bauxite miners have shelved smelter projects amid falling commodity prices. Up to seven projects are expected to be completed this year.
While the 2014 ban has remained intact for nickel ore and bauxite exports, the government gave producers of partially processed metals known as concentrates until 2017 to continue exports if they paid an export tax and developed domestic processing facilities.
Indonesia will this year review the concentrates export ban as part of a revision of the 2009 mining law that led to the export edicts and other regulations, said Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said.
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.reuters.com/article/indonesia-mining-exports-idUSL3N15V2D3