Investment Minister: Indonesia to Ban Quartz Exports despite Protests

Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia insisted that the Indonesian government would still ban quartz exports and process it domestically as soon as possible despite protests. “We want to manage quartz. If people want to protest, go ahead. We want our country to prosper," he said on Friday.

Indonesia intends to manage quartz and silica sand as well as establish a glass and solar panel ecosystem at the same time, in line with the country’s mineral downstream initiative. Bahlil also claimed Indonesia would become one of the largest solar panel producers because the country has “massive quartz reserves in the world [and] silica sand as raw materials.”