Indonesia plans to create a full copper supply chain in the coming years, as it sets up two more smelters and bans exports of concentrate by 2023.
According to media reports, the country shipped out around 1.3mn mt of copper ore in 2020, making it one of the biggest sources of the metal for various downstream producers in Japan, South Korea, Philippines and some parts of China. Indonesia already has a ban on nickel ore exports, and now will also retain its aluminum and copper raw materials in order to grow as an economy.
Indonesia has one functional smelter, run by PT Smelting, which is capable of producing 300,000mt of ‘LME Grade A’ copper cathode. In April, the government also signed an agreement with China ENFI Engineering to build a 400,000mt per year smelter. There are two more smelters under construction.