Indonesia, Philippines to discuss nickel cooperation

Indonesia and the Philippines plan to discuss nickel cooperation during President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Cebu later this week, Indonesia’s mining minister and an official with the country’s mining association said on Wednesday.

Indonesia will discuss shipping more ore from the Philippines when domestic supply is tight, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said.

No specific import volume will be agreed upon, and any deals will be conducted on a business-to-business basis, Bahlil said.

Indonesia plans to request more nickel ore imports from the Philippines to help fulfil ore demand from domestic smelters, said Djoko Widajatno, a member of the advisory board of nickel miner group APNI.

Nickel smelters in Indonesia often import ore from the Philippines when they face supply shortages from domestic miners.

Indonesia and the Philippines, both major producers of nickel ore, will also discuss cooperation on the development of technology and the exchange of information, Djoko said.

(By Fransiska Nangoy and Bernadette Christina Munthe; Editing by David Stanway)