The Indonesian government has flagged a potential measured relaxation of its strict mining production quotas for coal and nickel, a move that could have significant flow-on effects for global supply, according to a report by Reuters.
Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia confirmed the shift in stance following a high-level meeting with President Prabowo Subianto.
“If the prices remain stable, good, we may do what we call a measured relaxation on production plans,” Lahadalia said in a statement.
“Everything is still being coordinated with the market and the supply and demand, too.”
Indonesia is currently the world’s top exporter of both thermal coal and nickel products. Earlier this year, Jakarta moved to tighten the reins on supply, announcing plans to slash coal production to 600 million tonnes, a sharp drop from the 790 million tonnes produced in 2025.
Similarly, nickel ore quotas, managed through the government’s RKAB approval system, were capped at approximately 260 million tonnes, well below the 340 million tonnes demanded by the nation’s smelting industry.
The news has been met with cautious optimism by industry bodies. Arif Perdana Kusumah, chairman of the Indonesian nickel smelter association (Fini), welcomed the prospect of increased supply, although he noted that formal revisions to the RKAB have yet to be tabled.
