Jakarta. The government is considering granting mining permits to universities, but Chief Social Empowerment Minister Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar said such a plan must be carefully evaluated before moving forward.

The resource-rich Indonesia recently announced that a plan was underway to let universities conduct mining exploration activities. The House of Representatives has also proposed some revisions to the 2009 Law on Mineral and Coal Mining to enable the university mining grant, citing that it could improve the country’s human capital and boost the economy. The Mineral Resources Ministry has also floated a similar plan, saying that universities could get a minerals exploration license, which would let them identify areas that hold mineral deposits and figure out the size of the minerals that could get extracted.  

Muhaimin, popularly known as Cak Imin, recently said that he would support this plan as long as the university that gets the license is truly capable of doing so.

“We welcome the plan, … although we need to take into account whether [the universities] are really worthy [of the mining exploration permits]. … I’m sure everything has its own calculations,” Cak Imin said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

According to Cak Imin, the government shouldn’t just let anyone get the mining permit, citing that it would be best to give the licenses to universities with departments that specialize in mining and energy. He added: “It really depends on whether these universities are really capable.”

The minister said that the concession rollout could prevent monopoly within the mining sector. “A revised Mineral Mining Law would open up the opportunities for everyone to get involved in the sector, not just a handful of businesspeople,” Cak Imin said.

The plan’s announcement came about months after Former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inked a regulation permitting religious organizations to manage mines.