Indonesia has resumed some exports of metal ore concentrates after two firms gained permits to ship iron ore, zinc and lead, a mining ministry official said, the first shipments of their kind since the country changed its export rules in January.
The rule change, which banned unprocessed ore exports and levied an escalating tax on metal concentrate shipments, was part of a policy to force miners to build smelters and process minerals domestically.
Unprocessed ore exports are seen by the government as a waste of Indonesia's resource wealth and are still banned. Copper concentrate shipments remain at a standstill as some miners say the tax is in breach of their contracts.
Disputes and confusion over the rules halted about $500 million of monthly mineral ore and concentrate exports. Until this year, Indonesia was the world's top exporter of nickel ore and a major supplier of iron ore and bauxite.
Last week three shipments of iron ore, lead and zinc concentrate left the country after two firms agreed to pay the escalating tax, coal and minerals director-general Sukhyar told reporters late on Friday.
"There are two firms that have started to export; Sebuku Iron Lateritic Ores (SILO), and Lumbung Mineral Sentosa," Sukhyar said, adding that SILO had sent two shipments or around 100,000 tonnes of iron ore concentrate and Lumbung had shipped around 8,000 tonnes of lead and zinc concentrate already.
The tax on exports increases from 20 percent this year to 60 percent in the second half of 2016 for all metals but copper, for which the base rate was set at 25 percent.
They finally wanted to pay it," Sukhyar said, referring to the escalating tax that has been rejected by U.S. copper miners Newmont Mining Corp <NEM.N> and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc <FCX.N>, whose exports have not resumed.
The stoppage has led Newmont to declare force majeure and file for international arbitration.
SILO expected to export 8 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate a year, while Lumbung should ship 29,000 tonnes a year, he added. Both companies were exporting to China, Sukhyar said.
Separately, Sukhyar said there were now 76 firms with smelter projects more than 6 percent complete, up from 66 the government reported earlier this year. The initial list does not include any plans for copper smelters.
"They have made good progress," Sukhyar said, referring to miners adapting to minimum processing requirements introduced in January. He stopped short of identifying the firms in the latest data or stating what metals would be produced.
Source: Reuters
