Indonesia

Indonesia was estimated to be the world’s first-ranked producer of mined nickel

Pictured: nickel

Statistics and information on the mining industry in Indonesia.

Overview

In 2024, Indonesia was estimated to be the world’s first-ranked producer of mined nickel, accounting for 62% of global production; the second-ranked producer of mined tin, 19%; the second-ranked producer of mined cobalt, 12%; the sixth-ranked producer of zeolites (natural), 10%; and the sixth-ranked producer of zirconium mineral concentrates, 6%. Other mineral commodities produced in the country included bauxite, copper, ferroalloys, and gold.

The mining and quarrying sector (excluding mineral fuels) contributed about 3% to the gross domestic product (GDP). The base-metals manufacturing sector contributed about 1% to the GDP. The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Indonesia is provided by law No. 4/2009 and Amendment law No. 3/2020 on Mineral and Coal Mining. The Directorate General of Mineral and Coal under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources manages the country’s mineral resources by formulating and implementing policy on mining activities. Mining Industry Indonesia (or MIND ID) is the state-owned mining holding company. Wholly or partially foreign-owned companies included PT Freeport Indonesia Co. (PT–FI), PT Huafei Nickel Cobalt Co. Ltd., PT Tsingshan Steel Indonesia, and PT Vale Indonesia Tbk.

In 2024, PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia completed construction of its alumina refinery in West Kalimantan Province with a production capacity of 1 million metric tons per year (Mt/yr) and started operations in December. PT–FI completed the construction of its Manyar copper smelter in East Java Province with a production capacity of 0.6 Mt/yr but suspended operations owing to a fire during startup activities in October.

2024 Report

Full data release with tables here.

Introduction

Indonesia was one of the major global producers of metallic ores. In 2024, Indonesia was estimated to be the world’s first-ranked producer of mined nickel, accounting for 62% of global production; the second-ranked producer of mined tin, 19%; the second-ranked producer of mined cobalt, 12%; the sixth-ranked producer of zeolites (natural), 10%; and the sixth-ranked producer of zirconium mineral concentrates, 6%. Other mineral commodities produced in the country included bauxite, copper (mined and refined), ferroalloys, and gold (mined and refined) (Ewing, 2026; Flanagan, 2026; Friedline, 2026; Johnston, 2026; Merrill, 2026a, b; Sheaffer, 2026; Stewart, 2026).

Minerals in National Economy

In 2024, Indonesia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 5.0%; the nominal GDP was \$1.4 trillion. The mining and quarrying sector (excluding mineral fuels) contributed about 3% to the GDP. The base-metals manufacturing sector accounted for about 1% of the GDP (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2025, p. 766–768; World Bank, The, 2026).

Government Policies and Programs

The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Indonesia is provided by law No. 4/2009 and Amendment law No. 3/2020 on Mineral and Coal Mining. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) had banned the export of nickel ore in 2020 and that of bauxite in 2023 to encourage mining companies to build domestic plants and to produce value-added mineral products. The county’s copper mining companies, PT Freeport Indonesia Co. (PT–FI) and PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara, were granted licenses to continue exporting copper concentrates through 2024 owing to delayed smelter construction (Estherina, 2024).

In 2024, the Government announced seven new locations in which sea sand mining would be allowed. The announcement followed the lifting of ban on the export of sea sand in 2023. The ban had been issued to protect the environment in 2003 (Sullivan, 2024).

The Directorate General of Mineral and Coal under the MEMR manages the country’s mineral resources by formulating and implementing policy on mining activities. More-extensive coverage of Government policies and programs can be found in previous editions of this chapter in the U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook, volume III, Area Reports—International—Asia and the Pacific, which are available at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/asia-…;

Production

Data on mineral production are in the Production table (formerly table 1).

Structure of the Mineral Industry

The state-owned holding company Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID) consisted of five mining and mineral-processing companies: PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (PT Antam, which produced mainly bauxite and nickel), PT–FI (copper and gold), PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (PT Inalum, aluminum), PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam Tbk (PT Bukit Asam, coal), and PT Timah Tbk (tin). Partially foreign-owned companies included PT–FI and PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (nickel). Wholly foreign-owned companies included Chinese companies, PT Huafei Nickel Cobalt Co. Ltd. (cobalt and nickel) and PT Tsingshan Steel Indonesia (ferronickel). The Facilities table (formerly table 2) is a list of major mineral industry facilities.

In July, MIND ID completed the acquisition of 14% equity interest in PT Vale Indonesia. After the transaction, MIND ID became the largest shareholder at PT Vale with ownership of 34% equity interest (from 20%). The ownership of Vale Canada Ltd. and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. of Japan decreased to 33.9% (from 44.4%) and 11.5% (from 15%), respectively. The share divestment is part of the obligation to extend the operational license for PT Vale up to December 28, 2035 (Mining Industry Indonesia, 2024).

Mineral Trade

In 2024, Indonesia’s total exports of goods were valued at \$265 billion. Exports of metallic ores, slag, and ash were valued at \$8.2 billion; of which, China was the leading recipient (accounting for 34%). Exports of base metals and articles thereof (metal products) were \$44 billion, of which China was the leading recipient (56%). The leading commodity exports in mined metal and metal products were copper concentrates (\$8.0 billion) and nickel pig iron (NPI) and ferronickel (\$14.1 billion). Indonesia’s total imports of goods were valued at \$234 billion. Imports of metal ores, slag, and ash were valued at \$2.8 billion, of which Australia was the leading supplier (accounting for 40%). Imports of base metals and articles thereof were valued at \$21 billion, of which China was the leading supplier (39%). The leading commodities imports in mined metal and metal products were iron ore (\$1.5 billion) and iron and steel (\$11 billion), respectively (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2025, p. 683; Trade Data Monitor LLC, 2026).

Commodity Review

Metals

Bauxite and Alumina and Aluminum.—Indonesia produced an estimated 9.9 million metric tons (Mt) of bauxite in 2024, all of which was consumed domestically owing to the export ban implemented in June 2023 (Production table; Trade Data Monitor LLC, 2026). PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia completed construction of its alumina refinery in West Kalimantan Province with a production capacity of 1 million metric tons per year (Mt/yr) and started operations in December (Chatterjee, 2025). Indonesia produced about 274,000 metric tons (t) of aluminum in 2024, an increase from 215,000 t in 2023. The increase in production was attributed to the country’s only producer PT Inalum’s pot upgrading project. The company’s aluminum products contributed 46% of the country’s annual aluminum consumption, which totaled 441,000 t (PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, 2025, p. 37, 112).

Cobalt.—Indonesia’s mined cobalt production in 2024 was estimated to be 35,000 t, compared with an estimated 19,000 t in 2023. The increased production was attributed to continued ramping up at new facilities in recent years, especially by the leading operators, PT Halmahera Persada Lygend and PT Huafei Nickel Cobalt Co. Ltd. With technical expertise and key equipment from China, these facilities produced mixed hydroxide precipitate (or MHP) by utilizing the high-pressure acid leaching (or HPAL) process to recover cobalt and nickel from limonite, a low-grade nickel ore (Production table; Arfyana, 2024; Antaike, 2025, p. 11).

Copper and Gold.—PT–FI operated one of the world’s top-producing copper-gold mines in Papua Province. PT–FI’s copper output continued to increase to 816,000 t in 2024 from 753,000 t in 2023. The increase in copper output was due to increased mining and milling rates and higher ore grades to 1.27% from 1.22% copper. Gold production decreased to 58 t in 2024 from 62 t in 2023 owing to decreased ore grades to 1.00 from 1.12 grams per metric ton gold. The company completed construction of its new Manyar copper smelter (with a production capacity of 0.6 Mt/yr) and precious metals refinery in Gresik, East Java Province, in 2024. The smelter suspended operations owing to a fire during startup activities in October. The repair was scheduled to be completed by mid-2025 (Freeport-McMoRan Inc., 2025, p. 25, 26, 41).

Nickel.—Indonesia’s mined nickel production in 2024 was estimated to have increased to about 2.31 Mt (nickel content) from 2.03 Mt in 2023. Increased production in mined nickel was due to the increased demand from existing and new processing plants in recent years. The country’s NPI production was also estimated to have increased to 11 Mt (gross weight) from 9.9 Mt owing to increased capacities driven by the Government’s ban on nickel ore exports since 2020 (Production table; Muliawati, 2026).

In 2024, the MEMR continued to encourage the nickel industry to increase value-added nickel products, especially those used for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The Government planned to offer incentives to its downstream nickel industry and the EV industry. However, the MEMR considered imposing a moratorium on the construction of new NPI and ferronickel smelters to control excessive production (Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, 2024).

Tin.—Indonesia’s mined tin production (estimated) decreased to 55,000 t (Sn content) in 2024 from 67,600 t in 2023 owing mainly to the Government’s crackdown on unauthorized mining in Banka Belitung Islands (Production table; Hidayat, 2025). The state-owned PT Timah was Indonesia’s leading tin miner and the world’s fourth-ranked tin refiner. In 2024, the company produced about 19,440 t (Sn content) of mined tin compared with 14,860 t in 2023 and produced 18,920 t of refined tin compared with 15,340 t in 2023. The increase in mined tin production was due to optimized performance of the company’s production equipment and oversight of unauthorized mining activities in its mining sites. The increase in refined tin production was due to the company’s increased supply of mined tin (PT Timah Tbk, 2025, p. 23, 65, 66, 178).

Production table

(Metric tons, gross weight, unless otherwise specified)

Table includes data available through January 28, 2026. All data are reported unless otherwise noted. Estimated data are rounded to no more than three significant digits. In addition to the commodities listed, bentonite, dolomite, gold (refined), gypsum, limestone, phosphate rock, pumice, and sulfur may have been produced, but available information was inadequate to make reliable estimates of output.
Commodity	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Alumina	1,162,139	1,156,039	1,200,000^e	1,200,000^e	1,200,000^e
Aluminum, primary, metal	245,000	243,000	223,800	214,883	274,230
Bauxite, wet basis	25,860,000	25,780,000	30,360,000	9,889,569	9,900,000^e
Cement, hydraulic	62,700,000^e	65,000,000^e	64,790,000	66,924,000	67,800,000
Cobalt, mine, Co content	1,100^e1	2,700^e1	9,600^e1	19,000^e1	35,000^e1
Cobalt, refinery, cobalt sulfate, Co content	0	0	0	1,533	2,900^e
Copper, mine, concentrates, Cu content	500,000	712,000	921,000	894,000	996,000
Copper, mine, solvent extraction, Cu content	5,377²	19,045²	19,551²	12,706²	13,902²
Copper, refinery, primary, leaching, electrowon, Cu content	5,377²	19,045²	19,551²	12,706²	13,902²
Copper, refinery, primary, other, Cu content	263,208	270,497	268,400	212,000	335,200
Copper, smelter, primary	276,900	280,400	316,700	251,300	398,200
Feldspar	280,000^e	308,000^e	321,000^e	440,000^e	440,000^e
Ferroalloys, ferrochromium	230,000	252,000	275,000	550,000^e	600,000^e
Ferroalloys, ferronickel	130,000^e	129,000^e	122,000^e	110,000^e	101,000^e
Ferroalloys, ferronickel, Ni content	25,970	25,818	24,334	21,473	20,103
Ferroalloys, ferronickel, nickel pig iron	4,300,000^e	6,100,000^e	8,100,000^e	9,900,000^e	11,000,000^e
Ferroalloys, ferronickel, nickel pig iron, Ni content	600,000^e	850,000^e	1,100,000^e	1,390,000^e	1,600,000^e
Ferroalloys, ferrosilicomanganese, electric furnace	61,000	33,000	24,000	55,200	34,000
Gold, mine, Au content (kilograms)	65,900	79,280	105,460	82,972	94,000^e
Iodine	37	36	36	33	49
Iron ore, mine, iron sand, dry basis	3,619,903	2,980,000	3,480,000	3,500,000^e	3,500,000^e
Iron ore, mine, iron sand, dry basis, Fe content	1,800,000	1,490,000	1,740,000	1,750,000^e	1,750,000^e
Kaolin	1,700,000^e	1,600,000^e	990,000^e	1,600,000^e	1,600,000^e
Lead, mine, Pb content	8,000^e	8,000^e	5,000^e	6,400^e	5,000^e
Lead, refinery, secondary	53,000^e	54,000^e	55,000^e	58,000^e	58,000^e
Manganese, mine	158,000	19,000	138,000	41,000	45,100
Manganese, mine, 28% to 44% mn, Mn content	55,000	6,000	48,000	14,000	15,800
Nickel, intermediate, matte, Ni content	72,237	100,000^e	210,000^e	265,000^e	250,000^e
Nickel, intermediate, nickel cobalt hydroxide, Ni content	0	0	90,000^e	180,000^e	290,000^e
Nickel, mine, ore, laterite, Ni content	767,000	1,069,000	1,579,000	2,030,000	2,310,000^e
Nitrogen, ammonia, N content	5,900,000	6,000,000	6,000,000	5,800,000	5,700,000
Pig iron, including direct-reduced iron	3,000,000	3,400,000	3,500,000^e	4,000,000^e	4,000,000^e
Raw steel	12,871,371	14,834,811	15,567,858	16,845,719	17,000,000
Salt	1,360,000	1,090,000	700,000	2,500,000	2,040,000
Sand and gravel, industrial, sand, silica	3,000,000^e	3,200,000^e	4,900,000^e	5,000,000^e	5,000,000^e
Silver, mine, Ag content (kilograms)	335,200	397,900	438,290	440,000^e	337,000^e
Stone, size and shape unspecified, marble	481,000^e	941,000^e	183,000^e	282,000^e	280,000^e
Tin, mine, Sn content	65,127	52,467	57,735	67,625	55,000^e
Tin, smelter, primary	56,200	34,780	57,140	68,700^e	50,000^e
Titanium, concentrates, ilmenite and leucoxene	3,000^e	90,000^e	40,000^e	19,000^e	102,000^e
Zeolites	130,000^e	130,000^e	100,000^e	120,000^e	120,000^e
Zinc, mine, Zn content	20,000^e	14,000^e	11,000^e	10,000^e	2,000^e
Zirconium, concentrates	64,000^e	55,000^e	97,000^e	95,000^e	81,000^e

^e Estimated.

¹ Estimated from cobalt content of nickel matte and mixed hydroxide precipitate.

² The copper content of solvent extraction output at the mine level is the same as electrowon refinery output because copper produced in the solvent extraction and electrowinning process is typically reported only at the refinery level.

References Cited

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Estherina, I., 2024, Indonesia to ban export permit of copper concentrate next year, expected to lose Rp10 trillion income: TEMPO.CO, November 12. (Accessed January 27, 2026, at https://en.tempo.co/read/1939925/indonesia-to-ban-export-permit-of-copp….)

Ewing, S.M., 2026, Cobalt: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 70–71.

Flanagan, D.M., 2026, Copper: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 72–73.

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