[ Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mines: There are still 1.2 million hectares of unexplored land with nickel mining potential in Indonesia's nickel mines]
The Geological Bureau of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia reports that there are 2 million hectares of land with nickel mining potential in Indonesia, of which only 800000 hectares have been mined or mined. Nickel is listed as one of the 47 important mineral commodities by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. According to Tri Winarno, Director of Mining Planning and Development at the Indonesian Ministry of Mines and Coal, as of November 2023, Indonesia's nickel reserves were reported to be approximately 5 billion tons, including 3.5 billion tons of sapropel and 1.5 billion tons of limonite.
Tri Winarno explained that a mechanism, including regional auctions and allocations, has been established to increase nickel reserves. Exploration research is the research conducted by a research institution on a designated area after winning the bid. Although it is possible to discover new nickel reserves, the specific location has not been determined yet. He mentioned that these areas may be located around Sulawesi Island. However, as of now, there are no new plans to discover nickel reserves.
According to the 2020 Nickel Handbook released by the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Indonesia's nickel reserves reached 4.5 billion tons. In addition, its estimated resources are more extensive, totaling 11.7 billion tons. Approximately 90% of nickel resources are distributed in Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, and North Maluku.
The attractiveness of Indonesia's nickel mining potential has attracted many investors who are eager to mine and establish refineries (smelters). There are two types of nickel: high-grade nickel (sapropel) with a content exceeding 1.5% and low-grade nickel (limonite) with a content below 1.5%. Nickel from humus soil is processed using pyrometallurgical technology. As of 2020, ESDM recorded a sapropelic soil reserve of 2.6 billion tons. The pyrometallurgical plant processes up to 95.5 million tons of nickel in sapropel annually, and the estimated useful life of the sapropel reserves is 2047. As for nickel limonite, its reserves reach 1.7 billion tons and it is processed using wet smelting technology. Hydrometallurgical plants require an annual investment of 24 million tons of nickel from limonite. According to these numbers, the nickel reserves of limonite are expected to last until 2093, which is approximately 70 years or more.
The Indonesian Mining Experts Association (PERHAPI) estimates that the useful life of sapropel reserves is approximately 16 years. This calculation is based on geological data reports, with a sapropelic soil reserve of approximately 3.3 billion tons. Currently, the demand for pyrometallurgical plants (RKEF) is approximately 215 million tons per year. In contrast, the 1.67 billion tons of limonite reserves and the annual demand for 60 million tons of hydrometallurgical smelters (HPAL) indicate that nickel reserves of limonite may be depleted in 30 years. Perhapi Chairman Rizal Kasli stated, "HPAL products are typically used as materials for electric vehicle batteries." He emphasized that due to the relatively high capital expenditures involved, there are still relatively few smelters processing nickel limonite.
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