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Indonesia has set a quota of around 200 million tonnes for nickel ore mining this year, a senior mining ministry official said on Friday, adding this could be cut if miners failed to comply with environmental and other rules.
“We have issued around 200 million tonnes. But if based on their performance evaluation, especially post-mining reclamation and environmental management (not meeting government requirements), we will cut,” said Tri Winarno, director general of mineral and coal at the ministry.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said last week that the Southeast Asian country, one of the world’s biggest producers of nickel products, was reviewing its annual nickel ore mining quota, seeking to prevent further price falls.
The country’s nickel ore output last year was 215 million tonnes, Tri said.
The government said in November it might punish violations of environmental and other regulations by cutting quotas.
Indonesia last year approved annual nickel ore mining quotas of 240 million tonnes each year until 2026. Bloomberg News reported in December that authorities were considering cutting the quota to 150 million tonnes to support prices.