Jakarta. The government has denied granting Weda Bay Nickel an additional 25 million-ton quota.

Reports have claimed that the China-backed Weda Bay Nickel has clinched a quota of 25 million wet metric tons of nickel ore for the second half of 2026. Tri Winarno, a senior official at the Energy Ministry, denied such claims. Tri confirmed that the Halmahera-based mine had indeed applied for extra quota, but nothing is final yet.

"We have not approved their request to this day," Tri was quoted as saying by the state news agency Antara.

"Companies are free to propose the volume, regardless of how high it is, but nothing has been approved yet," Tri said.

Weda Bay Nickel is a joint venture with Chinese steelmaker Tsingshan holding the majority stake. French miner Eramet also has 37.8% shares in the company. The remaining 10% stake goes to state-run enterprise Antam. Weda Bay, located in North Maluku's Halmahera, makes up 17% of the global production.

Quota Revisions
Miners in Indonesia have to submit their annual work plans or RKAB before they can begin their production. This is a document that sets out the details of their operations, including how much ores are they planning to mine. The document is also subject to the government's approval.

The government is now accepting revised RKABs to accommodate higher production demands. Bahlil, however, refused to disclose the production quota volumes to avoid price volatility in international markets. Indonesia also wants its mining commodities, be it nickel or coal, to be sold at favorable prices, according to Bahlil.

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