APNI Detailed Explanation of Indonesia's Nickel Industry Policy — Nickel Ore Quotas, Imports, Pricing, and HPAL Project Ore Allocation

On March 4, Mysteel conducted an exclusive interview with Meidy Katrin Lengkey, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Nickel Ore Association (APNI). In response to a series of hot-button issues that the market is paying close attention to—including resource balancing under the backdrop of tightening RKAB quotas, securing feedstock for new smelting projects, adjustments to quotas for mines in specific regions, and reforms to the nickel ore pricing mechanism—Secretary-General Meidy provided official, detailed interpretations and responses. The core view is that Indonesia will set its RKAB production quota target for 2026 at about 260–270 million tons, aiming to compress the predicted global nickel market surplus from 261,000 tons to 89,000 tons, thereby providing direct support to nickel prices through supply management. Indonesia has an RKAB revision mechanism: companies can apply for additional quotas in mid-year based on production performance, which means that the quota tightening at the beginning of the year is not the final supply ceiling, and the actual supply volume has room for dynamic adjustment. Indonesia is also pushing for reform of the nickel ore pricing formula, intending to include the cobalt value contained in the ore into the pricing system. This move will directly raise the official benchmark prices of ore types such as limonite, thereby increasing mining costs and raw-material procurement costs for downstream smelters.