On October 6, Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) said that the 2027 Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) evaluation will be faster than that of 2026, and promised to decide nickel ore production quotas fairly. Cecep Mochammad Yasin, Director of Mineral Business Development at the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal, said at the "BIG Downstream Insight" event that the goal is to issue the 2027 nickel ore RKAB before the regulatory deadline, avoiding evaluation dragging to the maximum period and striving for early completion.
Cecep revealed that the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal has asked nickel mining companies to submit next year's production plans so as to evaluate smelter ore demand and upstream capacity in advance, so that companies can clarify the quota they will obtain when submitting RKAB applications. He said the shortcomings in the 2026 RKAB evaluation mainly stem from the transition from a 3-year to a 1-year reporting system, and stressed that "there is no tendency to preserve reserves or prioritize imports, but to improve quotas based on spatial considerations."
Under current regulations, the 1-year RKAB application period is from October 1 to November 15 each year. This year's cumulative nickel ore production quota is 260 million to 270 million metric tons, significantly lower than last year's actual output of 320 million metric tons. The ESDM predicts that actual nickel ore output this year will reach about 290 million metric tons, higher than the upper limit of the 2026 RKAB quota.
