Indonesia said on Tuesday it had shortened the validity of mining production quotas to one year from three as of October 3, as the government seeks more control over output levels to support the prices of commodities like coal and nickel.
The move had been flagged in July by Mining Minister Bahlil Lahadalia.
Quotas for 2025 remain valid but miners will need to re-apply for quotas previously issued for 2026 and 2027, the ministry said.
RKAB proposals, documents that companies use to request amounts they can mine over a certain period of time, should be submitted between October 1 and November 15 each year, it added.
The coal miners’ association APBI said it hoped that the relatively short time left for RKAB submission and approval for 2026 would not impact miners’ operations.
“This is closely related to certainty in business sustainability, from investment to contract fulfillment,” APBI executive director Gita Mahyarani said.
Under the new rules, before they can secure their RKAB approval, miners will also be required to provide proof that they have put aside a certain amount of cash to rehabilitate the land once the mining is done.
The ministry last month suspended 190 mining permits after companies failed to meet their obligations to rehabilitate mine-damaged land or comply with production quotas, state media Antara reported.
(By Fransiska Nangoy and Bernadette Christina Munthe; Editing by John Mair and Edwina Gibbs)
