President Joko Widodo inaugurates new alumina refinery, boosting Indonesia’s mineral processing industry

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has inaugurated a $941 million smelter-grade alumina refinery operated by state miner Aneka Tambang (Antam) and state-owned aluminium producer Inalum in the West Kalimantan province.

The refinery boasts a production capacity of 1 million metric tonnes of alumina annually, requiring 3.3 million tonnes of bauxite as input. Indonesia, rich in natural resources, is focused on strengthening its domestic mineral processing industry rather than exporting raw materials.

"The domestic aluminium demand is 1.2 million tonnes, 56% is imported while we have the raw material. When these are all completed, we can stop the import," added Joko Widodo.

The country has attracted significant investment in nickel processing plants following the export ban on unprocessed nickel implemented in January 2020. Last year, Indonesia banned the export of bauxite, the primary raw material for aluminium, aiming to replicate the success it achieved with nickel.

Hendi Prio Santoso, CEO of MIND ID, the parent company of Inalum and Antam, revealed plans to expand the plant's production capacity by an additional 1 million tonnes. The companies also intend to construct an aluminium plant to process the alumina produced further.

The second phase of the alumina refinery is expected to require an additional $900 million in investment, while the future aluminium plant is projected to cost around $2 billion, according to Hendi.