Get Ready, Indonesia's Rare Earth Mining Auction Coming Soon

The Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry is set to auction rare earth mining areas. According to Muhammad Wafid, the Ministry's Geological Agency Head, the agency has proposed two working areas to the Energy Minister and the Director General of Minerals and Coal. The directorate general will conduct the auction, which has received technical data from the Geological Agency. "It's just a matter of follow-up," he said on Apr. 2.

Wafid stated that the Geological Agency has researched and explored the potential of rare earth in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, and Parmonangan, North Sumatra. The activities include mapping, imaging with georadar and geomagnet, the establishment of test wells or trenches, and drilling. The agency has also carried out detailed exploration through closer drilling and extraction tests, including characterization, concentration, and extraction. The exploration results yielded the highest rare earth content in Mamuju at 4,571 parts per million (ppm) and Parmonangan at 1,549 ppm.