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Indonesian nickel miners ask government to keep mining quota for three years

The Indonesian nickel miners association APNI urged the Indonesian government on Friday to continue mining quotas for a period of three years, to maintain a consistent climate in business.

The Mining Minister said on Wednesday that the government intends to reduce the duration of mining quotas (also known as RKABs) to one year in order to better control the supply and support the prices of commodities like coal and nickel.

The resource-rich nation extended the validity of quotas to three years in order to reduce the burden on authorities and applicants. Companies are still able to make revisions to their respective quotas every year.

APNI said on Friday that while it appreciated efforts to sustain mining, reducing quotas would create bottlenecks for the approval process because thousands of miners would have to apply for quotas each year.

"The government must strengthen its internal evaluation and supervision capacity, rather than lengthening the bureaucratic chains with shorter licensing terms," APNI stated in a press release.

It said that a medium-term plan is essential for planning and investment.

Yuliot Tanjung, deputy mining minister, said on Friday that details of the changes are "still being formed" but declined further comment.

He didn't comment on the request of the association.

In a late-night statement, the ministry reiterated its plan to maintain price stability and mitigate the impact of price decreases on government revenues. (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing; Additional reporting by Hongmei LI; Reporting by Fransiska Naangoy)

(source: Reuters)