Indonesia's nickel, cobalt reserves valued at US$800 billion: DEN

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Indonesia's nickel, cobalt reserves valued at US$800 billion: DEN​

A member of DEN's Mining and Minerals Expert Team, Nataneil Adhynagara Horansil (left) in a discussion on Nickel Processing Reform to Encourage Green Industry Growth in Jakarta, Thursday (August 27, 2026) (ANTARA/A Muzdaffar Fauzan)

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Economic Council (DEN) outlined that the total value of Indonesia's nickel and cobalt reserves is approximately US$800 billion.

A member of DEN's Mining and Minerals Expert Team, Nataneil Adhynagara Horansil, stated that this value is based on Indonesia's nickel reserves of 52 million tons and cobalt reserves of 1.2 million tons.

"If we estimate the value using the current LME market value, the valuation of the reserves is around US$700 billion for nickel and around US$50 billion for cobalt," he said during a discussion on Nickel Processing Reform to Promote Green Industry Growth in Jakarta on Thursday.

Horansil said the figure represents the value of monetizable reserves, not the entirety of Indonesia's mineral resources.

He noted that these resources remain largely untapped and cannot yet be fully exploited economically, as their viability depends on various factors, including market conditions and environmental considerations.


"Regarding minable resources, those that can be valued and monetized are the reserve value," he explained.

He then noted that the ongoing nickel downstreaming policy had had a significant impact on the development of the domestic mineral processing industry.

Indonesia has moved beyond raw ore exports and is now producing intermediate products such as nickel pig iron (NPI).


Horansil expressed hope that Indonesia would further strengthen its industrial value chain in the future to produce downstream products, including batteries and electric vehicles.

Furthermore, he stated that the downstreaming policy has encouraged the growth of the national nickel processing industry's capacity.

Currently, Indonesia's nickel smelter capacity stands at around 1.8 million tons, with the majority located in industrial areas in Sulawesi.

From a trade perspective, Indonesian nickel product exports have also experienced a significant increase, with the export value of nickel products rising 12-fold since 2014, from around US$3 billion per year to US$37 billion last year. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the base metal sector exceeded US$71 billion between 2015 and 2025.

 

Indonesia's nickel, cobalt reserves valued at US$800 billion: DEN

The National Economic Council (DEN) outlined that the total value of Indonesia's nickel and cobalt reserves is approximately US$800 billion. A member ...

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