Indonesia Targets Financiers, Not Small Miners, in Crackdown on Illegal Mining

PT PLN (Persero), shareholder of Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC), supports IBC’s partnerships to accelerate an integrated national battery industry from upstream mining to downstream production. On Jan 30, 2026, in Jakarta, IBC signed a framework agreement with PT ANTAM and HYD Investment Limited consortium (Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt & EVE Energy). IBC CEO Aditya Farhan Arif called it the first step in national battery downstreaming—emphasizing investment, technology transfer, and domestic capacity building. The $6B project builds a full mine-to-battery chain: nickel mining & processing, precursor/cathode materials, battery cell production (starting 20 GWh), mainly in East Halmahera and West Java. PLN CEO Darmawan Prasodjo stressed its key role in boosting Indonesia’s EV ecosystem.

[SMM Aluminum Express - Alumina February 2, 2026 Night Session Review] Overnight, the most-traded alumina 2605 futures contract opened at 2,796 yuan/mt, hit a high of 2,843 yuan/mt, touched a low of 2,783 yuan/mt, and finally closed at 2,821 yuan/mt, up 49 yuan/mt from the previous day. Open interest increased by 270 lots to 376,000 lots, with overall market trading relatively cautious. Maintenance and shutdown signals from alumina refineries provided some support to the bulls. Technically, the closing price was above the MA5 (2,797.60), MA10 (2,756.70), and MA30 (2,762.23), lending some upward momentum. Meanwhile, the MACD indicator's DIF (3.87) crossed above the DEA (-3.49), continuing a low-level golden cross, with the histogram at 14.73. It is expected that alumina futures will continue to be in the doldrums in the short term.