JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - Senior economic minister, Airlangga Hartarto, said the government was reviewing the formation of a bullion bank to manage gold into one of Indonesia’ major commodities. The reasoned, he said gold is one of the commodities whose prices sustain in the long period even in the rise COVID-19 outbreak.
According to him, the formation of a bullion bank will benefit a number of parties, for the government can save foreign exchange, and for industry players could become a source of project financing funding. In addition, he noted, the presence of a bullion bank could be a product diversification for the public.
Indonesia itself is one of the big gold players in the global arena. It was recorded that the export performance of gold and granules increased to US$5.28 billion in 2020. The country also has the second largest gold mine in the world in the Grasberg mine in Papua, with gold reserves reaching 30.2 million troy ounces (oz).
Not only that, said Hartarto, Indonesia is the seventh largest gold producer country in the world with production reaching 130 tones in 2020 or 4.59 million oz. However, he said, PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (IDX: ANTM), is only classified as a junior gold miner with production 1.7 tones in 2020.
Indonesia is indeed rich in minerals, one of which is a gold mine, and the discovery of a giant gold mine has never stopped in Indonesia. Beside Aneka Tambang and PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), the other gold miners are PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara, PT Merdeka Cooper Gold Tbk (IDX: MDKA), PT Agincourt Resources, and PT Renuka Coalindo Tbk (IDX: SQMI).
Currently, PTFI produced 6,065 tones of concentrate per day, which contains copper, gold and silver. Each ton of concentrate contained 39.34 grams of gold. Their underground mine can produce 3 million tons of concentrate per year and the reserves will continue until the contract expires in 2041. There are even copper and gold reserves underneath, around 2 billion tons, which can continue to be extracted until 2052, if the Indonesian government extends the Freeport contract.
Then, ANTAM dig gold from a mine located in Pongkor, West Java and has gold reserves 19 tones and gold resources equivalent to 42 tones. Then, Batu Hijau mines owned by Amman Mineral could produce gold up to 100 kilo oz of gold and 197 million pounds of copper per year.
Currently, the unit of PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk (IDX: MEDC) is doing the final stage of the mining to boost the production of 4.47 billion pounds of copper and 4.12 million oz of gold in this year. Furthermore, the Martabe gold mine owned by PT United Tractors Tbk (IDX: UNTR) is estimating to produces up to 350,000 oz of gold per annum.
While, Merdeka Cooper targets to increase mineral production, such as gold, silver and copper this year. The unit of Saratoga Group targeting the gold production around 200,000 oz of gold in this year.
And, Renuka Coalindo was previously engaged in the coal sector now also digging the gold mining. The unit of Singapore-based Wilton Resources Holding Pte. Ltd., is expected to producer 185,000 oz of gold per year from the Ciomas Gold Project, located in West Java, which has a total reserve of 26 tons of gold content.
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Written by Editorial Staff, Email: theinsiderstories@gmail.com
