Indonesia Called to Maximize Mineral Processing for Growth

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Strengthening the national mineral industry is key to ensuring Indonesia is no longer merely a supplier of raw materials but is able to dominate the global industrial supply chain through downstream processing and the development of advanced materials with high added value.

Investment Management Agency Danantara Indonesia CEO Rosan Roeslani stated that Indonesia has significant capital to develop a mineral processing industry.

The country is endowed with reserves of nickel, bauxite, copper, tin, and rare earth minerals, which serve as raw materials for future technologies such as electric-vehicle batteries, semiconductors, defense systems, and clean-energy sources.

“However, for decades, we have too often stopped at the point of extraction: exporting raw materials, and then buying back the finished product at many times the price,” Rosan said in Jakarta on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

He emphasized that it is time for Indonesia to build industrial sovereignty by developing the mineral processing sector so that the added value of natural resources can be enjoyed domestically.

At Danantara’s Advanced Materials Industry Dialogue: From Minerals to Manufacturing, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on developing advanced materials (critical minerals downstreaming) was signed between state‑owned mining holding company PT Mineral Industri Indonesia, state‑owned electronics manufacturer PT LEN Industri, state‑owned steelmaker PT Krakatau Steel (Persero) Tbk, and state‑owned defense manufacturer PT Pindad.

The collaboration aims to optimize the supply chain and offtake of critical minerals and advanced materials to support national strategic industries. This industrial development targets not only the electric vehicle sector but also aerospace, maritime, basic components, defense, and electricity industries.

Danantara Indonesia Chief Technology Officer Sigit P. Santosa stated that developing the midstream materials industry must be part of the national industrial transformation toward a technology-based economy and high-value manufacturing.

According to him, Indonesia needs to capitalize on increasing regional demand, build technological capabilities, and enhance competitiveness to achieve sustainable economies of scale.

“Indonesia’s strength lies not only in its mineral availability but also in its ability to transform those minerals into an advanced materials industrial ecosystem that supports batteries, clean energy, defense, transportation, and various future strategic technologies,” Sigit said.

He added that the development of the advanced materials industry must be carried out in an integrated manner to strengthen national industrial competitiveness.

“Nickel remains a key advantage, but the bigger agenda is to build broader industrial capacity with high added value and global competitiveness,” he said. ***