Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) officially signed Ministerial Decree No. 144.K/MB.01/MEM.B/2026 on April 10, revising the calculation rules for the Mineral Benchmark Price (HPM). The new regulation takes effect on April 15, 2026.
1. Nickel Ore - Four-Element Pricing (Ni, Fe, Co, Cr)
The HPM formula for nickel ore (Bijih Nikel) is adjusted as follows:
HPM Nickel Ore = [(%Ni × CF_Ni × HMA_Ni) + (%Fe × CF_Fe × HMA_Iron Ore × 100) + (%Co × CF_Co × HMA_Co) + (%Cr × CF_Cr × HMA_Chrome Ore × 100)] × (1 - MC)
Parameters (USD/WMT):
%Ni: Nickel grade
%Fe: Iron grade (included only when Fe ≤ 35%)
%Co: Cobalt grade (included only when Co ≥ 0.05%)
%Cr: Chromium grade (always included)
CF_Ni: Correction factor – base 30% at 1.6% Ni; adjusts by ±1% for every ±0.1% Ni
CF_Fe: Fixed 30%
CF_Co: Fixed 30%
CF_Cr: Fixed 10%
HMA_Ni: Based on LME nickel spot settlement price
HMA_Co: Based on LME cobalt spot settlement price
HMA_Iron Ore: Based on Asian Metal iron ore price
HMA_Chrome Ore: Based on Asian Metal chrome ore price
MC: Moisture content (%)
2. Intermediate Products – MHP, MSP, Nickel Matte Adjusted Accordingly
MHP: HPM = (%Ni × HMA_Ni × 60%) + (%Co × HMA_Co × 100%)
MSP: HPM = (%Ni × HMA_Ni × 60%) + (%Co × HMA_Co × 30%)
Nickel Matte: HPM = 78% × (%Ni + %Co) × HMA_Ni
Ferronickel and NPI: Continue to be priced based on nickel content, with correction factors of 95% and 85%, respectively.
3. Other Minerals – Unit Unified to USD/WMT
The HPM unit for bauxite, iron ore, chrome ore, manganese ore, copper ore, lead ore, zinc ore, and cobalt ore has been unified to USD/WMT. A deduction factor for reactive silica (R-SiO2) is added for bauxite. Iron ore and other minerals have tiered correction factors based on iron grade.
4. Implementation Date
The decree was signed on April 10, 2026, and officially takes effect on April 15, 2026.
Original document: https://mfs.mysteelcdn.com/group1/M00/1D/8F/rBL64GndxHCAA4BtABapr5TTGIM824.pdf
Written by Cora Ji, jiruyan@mysteel.com
Join Mysteel's April 30 webinar to explore whether supply disruptions will drive the next leg higher for lithium and nickel markets in Q2 2026. https://www.mysteel.net/event-listings/100067-q2-2026-lithium-and-nickel-will-supply-disruptions-fuel-further-price-hikes
