Jakarta. The state-run mineral firm Perminas has joined forces with the Abu Dhabi-based New Energy Metals, or NEM, on rare earth value chain development that links to Gabon. 

NEM’s subsidiary Dusk Gabon operates the polymetallic resource deposit Maboumine in the African country.

A brand new memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Perminas and NEM is expected to enable Indonesia to tap into Maboumine’s niobium and rare earth elements. It will also help unlock partnership in the industrial processing of the said rare earths in Indonesia, according to a press statement published by the sovereign fund Danantara.

Beyond industrial development, the MoU plants the seed for negotiations on having Perminas or Danantara engaging in a debt or equity agreement in the Maboumine mine. 

“This MoU creates a structured pathway to assess opportunities that link upstream resource potential with downstream value creation, consistent with strong governance and long-term national priorities,” Perminas President Director Gilarsi Wahju Setijono was quoted as saying in the statement.

The press release stated that the partnership could extend to permanent magnet manufacturing.

Danantara — the fund that now oversees all state enterprises, including Perminas — did not disclose the financial value of the MoU. 

Niobium and rare earth elements (e.g. neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium) boast ample applications, ranging from electric vehicles, renewable energy, aerospace, and the defense industry. 

Danantara’s boss Rosan Roeslani said that the partnership was necessary to give Indonesia “resilient access” to the critical inputs needed to produce what he called “globally competitive” downstream products.

NEM President Director Abduljabbar Alsayegh, too, acknowledged Jakarta’s dream to advance the rare earth value chain to be “increasingly vital to global energy transition, technology leadership, and supply security.”

In recent years, the resource-abundant Indonesia has been aggressively expanding its domestic industrial processing. The government is banking on the production of more sophisticated goods to achieve the mammoth task of reaching an 8% annual growth. Indonesia's economy expanded 5.11% in 2025.