Downstreaming of Bauxite Becomes the Foothold of Indonesia’s Strategic Mineral Development

Pontianak, 7 August 2026 – Indonesia continues its bauxite downstreaming efforts as part of the mineral resource transformation to become the added value national industry foundation. In line with the downstreaning development, the challenge is not only to raise production, but also develop an integrated industrial ecosystem, maintain supply chain, as well as optimize the potential of each mineral processing.

The strengthening of the supply chain is reflected through the export of 3,013.5 tons of Alumina Hydroxide and 1,740 tons of Alumina Oxide or Chemical Grade Alumina (CGA) fron Dwikora Port, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, to South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China. This momentum shows that the added value product from Indonesia’s bauxite downstreaming is capable of reaching the global market.

For MIND ID, the downstreaming does not only stop at the main product. The development of the mineral processing also opens opportunities to optimize associated mineral and byproducts to create new economic value. Such opportunity becomes relevant for the development of Rare Earth Elements (REE), whose potential can be found in natural minerals as well as non-coventional sources, including bauxite residue, nickel slag, and tin processing side product.

MIND ID Deputy President Director, Dany Amrul Ichdan, said that development of Rare Earth Elements (LTJ) needs regulatory certainty, especially as a number of LTJ elements are present as trace elements in very low concentration. He hopes there are clear and proportional content threshold to differentiate LTJ as main mineral and trace element in export commodity.

Such assurance is important as the existence of LTJ in low concentration will not immediately make a commodity worth extracting as LTJ product. Elements such as cerium and lanthanum, for instance, can be found up to part per million (ppm).

“If Indonesia is able to separate LTJ and its accompanying minerals economically and efficiently, Indonesian has truly become an LTJ processing country,” said Dany.

To develop such capability, MIND ID and the Mineral Industry Board or Badan Industri Mineral (BIM) and supported by BRIN, are in the midst of compiling the national roadmap for the processing and refining of LTJ technology, including the mapping of raw materials and technology needed.

The development of LTJ becomes strategic as it is needed by various future industries, from electric vehicles, renewable energy, electronics, to high technology manufacturing.

“MIND ID continues to open collaborations with all stakeholders to strengthen national industrial independence while at the same time create new economic growth sources for Indonesia,” concluded Dany.