Indonesian Nickel and Cobalt Prices Decline, MHP Nickel Down $70/mt Ni, Cobalt Down $20/mt Co

As of now, the Indonesia MHP nickel FOB price stood at $15,348/mt Ni, and the Indonesia MHP cobalt FOB price was $49,311/mt Co. The MHP payables for SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index were 85-86%, while the MHP cobalt element payable indicator for SMM refined cobalt (Rotterdam warehouse) was 92%. The Indonesia high-grade nickel matte FOB price was $15,731/mt Ni.

Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia stated that the royalty contributions paid by enterprises will become one of the key considerations in the evaluation for the approval of the Mining Work Plan and Budget (RKAB). Bahlil stated on August 3: "If some companies pay higher royalties while others pay lower ones, who should be given priority? Naturally, I must prioritize those that pay higher royalties. " This policy means that mining enterprises' contribution to state revenue may become an additional evaluation factor in future RKAB quota allocation. In addition to production capacity, market conditions and domestic downstream industry demand, royalty contributions may also affect approval priorities. At present, the Indonesian government is still reviewing the RKAB applications submitted by mining enterprises, and will determine the scale of additional production quotas based on market supply and demand. The final quota allocation has not yet been announced, and relevant data is still under calculation. SMM believes that the inclusion of royalty contributions in the RKAB evaluation criteria may lead to more selective quota approvals in the future, giving priority to mining enterprises with higher contributions to state revenue. We will continue to monitor the specific implementation of this criterion and its potential impact on the allocation of Indonesia's future nickel ore supply.