Government will stop the iron ore exports if the processing mills that will be established by PT Krakatau Steel (KS), Pohang Iron, and Steel Corporations is completed and operated in 2013.
Secretary of Directorate General of Mineral, Coal and Geothermal [Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources] Witoro Sularno said that actually through the existing private companies, the iron ore national production has reached 4 million–6 million tons.
This is, he said, marked by the iron ore exports level as recorded in Ministry of Commerce which last year reached more than 3 million tons per annum.
“Actually, the exports data from the Ministry of Commerce showed the iron ore was around 4 million tons– 5 million tons per annum. In 2009, its exports volumes were more than 3 million tons. The high of iron ore exports is related with the increasing of physical establishment, on the other hand, Indonesia doesn’t have its processing plant.
The absence of the processing plant, he uttered, is the reason why KS imported the steel raw materials such as pellet direct reduction (DR) grade with Fe level 66% from Brazil, Chile, Sweden, and Bahrain. KS import volume of steel raw materials from those countries, he said, reached around 2 million tons– 2.5 million tons pr annum.
“Currently, KS doesn't import the iron ore but raw materials of refined iron ore such as sponge iron [Fe level 90%-98%], pellet and pig iron [Fe level 95%]. The raw materials for KS is type of pellet DR grade that imported 2 million–2.5 million per annum.”
Witoro said that even if KS will import the iron ore to its joint venture plant with Posco, it likely will be effective only temporarily.
He said that the government is committed to immediately stop the export of iron ore when KS and Posco joint venture plant is completed and ready to operate.
“If the plant is completed in 2013, by that year also we can stop the iron ore exports so that the entire iron ore can be processed by KS itself." (t06/wiw)
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