MIND ID to Accelerate Development of High-Value Rare Earth Elements
MIND ID, the State-Owned Mining Industry Holding Company, is committed to accelerating the development of rare earth elements (REE), by-products of tin mining, to increase domestic added value in line with the company’s downstreaming program.
The announcement was made by Hendi Prio Santoso, the President Director of MIND ID, in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, January 25, 2025 as quoted by CNBC Indonesia.
MIND ID has been working on integrating end-to-end supply chains for the commodities they manage. The company is focused on downstreaming to produce raw materials for the manufacturing industry. Of particular interest to MIND ID are rare earth elements such as thorium, uranium, and molybdenum, which have high economic value with prices reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars per kilogram on the global market.
Hendi said that the company has achieved considerable progress in integrating the supply chain.
“We are doing downstreaming to create raw materials for the manufacturing industry,” he said.
He also noted the high value of the rare earth elements they are working with, saying “These contain radioactive materials such as thorium, uranium, and molybdenum. These are very expensive. So 1 kg alone can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars”.
Previously, Yoseph C.A Swamidharma, Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Association of Geologists (IAGI) for the Mineral Sector, has urged for more intensive development of rare earth elements in Indonesia due to their significant benefits to domestic industries.
He also noted that rare earth elements are crucial for the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, including the magnets used in electric motors.
He emphasized the need for continued exploration of these elements, along with other critical minerals like lithium and graphite.
According to Yoseph, “the completeness of material needs for EV and batteries indeed still has many elements that must continue to be explored. One of them is indeed LTJ, besides that, there are critical minerals such as lithium and graphite”.
The IAGI supports the government’s push for downstreaming in the mining sector and emphasizes the importance of rare earth elements to develop a robust EV supply chain.
Yoseph acknowledges the need for collaboration among the IAGI, the Geological Agency, BRIN, and other stakeholders to improve the balance and increase the reserves of rare earth elements in Indonesia.
