The Geological Bureau of Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources reports that there are 2 million hectares of land in Indonesia with nickel potential, of which only 800,000 hectares have been mined or exploited.
Nickel is listed as one of 47 important mineral commodities by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. According to Tri Winarno, director of mining program development at Indonesia's General Directorate of Mines and Coal, Indonesia's nickel reserves as of November 2023 are reported to be about 5 billion tons, of which 3.5 billion tons of sapropyl soil and 1.5 billion tons of limonite.
Tri Winarno explained that mechanisms including regional auctions and allocations have been worked out to increase nickel reserves.
Exploration research is the research carried out in the designated area after the research institution wins the bid. While it is possible that new nickel reserves could be discovered, the exact location has not yet been determined.
Tri Winarno mentioned that these areas may be located around Sulawesi Island. As of now, however, no new nickel discoveries are planned.
As of June 2023, nickel is becoming increasingly important in the mining industry, mainly for the production of stainless steel.
The increasing shift from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles has further stimulated the demand for nickel.
Indonesia has rich nickel reserves and is the largest nickel ore holder in the world.
According to the 2020 Nickel Manual released by the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Indonesia's nickel reserves reach 4.5 billion tons.
In addition, its estimated resources are more extensive, totaling 11.7 billion tons. About 90% of nickel resources are located in Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and North Maluku.
The attractiveness of Indonesia's nickel potential has attracted many investors eager to mine and set up smelters.
However, nickel, like coal, is a non-renewable commodity. Over time, continued extraction could deplete its resources. The calculation of elasticity of nickel reserves requires consideration of refining techniques.
There are two types of nickel: high-grade nickel with a content of more than 1.5% (sapropelic soil) and low-grade nickel with a content of less than 1.5% (limonite).
Humic nickel is processed by fire smelting technology. As of 2020, the ESDM has recorded 2.6 billion tonnes of hump reserves.
The pyrometallurgical plant processes up to 95.5 million tons of hump nickel per year and has an estimated service life of hump reserves until 2047.
As for the limonite nickel, its reserves of 1.7 billion tons, using wet smelting technology processing. The wet smelter needs 24 million tons of nickel limonite per year. Based on these figures, limonite nickel reserves are expected to last until 2093, that is, about 70 more years.
The Association of Indonesian Mining Experts (PERHAPI) estimates that the service life of the putrid soil reserves is about 16 years. This calculation is based on geological data reporting about 3.3 billion tonnes of saprod reserves, and current demand for pyrometallurgical smelters (RKEF) is about 215 million tonnes per year.
In contrast, 1.67 billion tonnes of limonite reserves and 60 million tonnes of hydrometallurgical smelter (HPAL) demand per year suggest that limonite nickel reserves could be exhausted in 30 years.
"HPAL products are commonly used as materials for electric vehicle batteries," said Rizal Kasli, chairman of Perhapi. He stressed that smelters processing limonite nickel are still relatively few due to the relatively high capital expenditure involved.
