Indonesia has set a quota of around 200 million tonnes for nickel ore production this year, which could be cut if mining companies fail to comply with environmental and other regulations, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said.
Earlier, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the Southeast Asian country, one of the world's largest nickel producers, was reviewing its annual nickel ore production quota in a bid to prevent prices from falling further.
The country's nickel ore production last year reached 215 million tonnes, according to Tri Winarno, head of the ministry's mineral resources and coal department. Last November, Indonesian authorities warned that they would punish violations of environmental and other regulations by reducing quotas.
Last year, Indonesia approved annual nickel ore production quotas of 240 million tons annually until 2026. At the same time, the authorities considered reducing the quota to 150 million tons to support prices.
Hélène Tarin, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
