ESDM Said Many Tin Reserves Stored in The Sea

Special Staff of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Irwandy Arif explained that Indonesia’s tin reserves are mostly stored in the sea. This was followed by the fact that tin reserves on land were starting to run low.

“However, regarding the exact reserves, I don’t know how much. But on land it has begun to decrease. Tin reserves on land are smaller than those at sea,” he explained at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Office (10/03/2023).

According to industri.kontan.co.id, President Director of PT Timah Tbk (TINS) Achmad Ardianto revealed that 80% of tin reserves are in the sea. TINS received an order to carry out tin mining while maintaining the marine environment. One of the efforts made is the utilization of sea space. TINS will comply with the Marine Space Utilization Activity Conformity Agreement (PKKPRL) from the KKP.

“By granting the PKKPRL permit, PT Timah would like to thank KKP for the support so that PT Timah can operate better,” he said.

This is also supported by Acting Director General Minerba Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Idris F Sihite. He reminded that tin mining at sea must pay attention to environmental aspects. Idris explained that illegal tin mining activities did not only occur on land but also at sea.

“Management or ways of mining must comply with environmental aspects. So it will not have an impact on ecosystems in the sea,” he said.

Tin Mining Area

Based on the 2021 annual report, mining activities by TINS ​​are carried out in the sea and land. The sea mining was done at Bangka Island, Belitung Island, as well as the waters of the Kundur Islands, Riau Islands Province. Meanwhile, onshore or land mining is carried out on Bangka Island and Belitung Island.

From the total resources, the total reserve position for 2021 is 300,000 tons. There was an increase of 6% from the position of the total reserves of 282,312 tons in 2020. Most of the total reserves are in the sea.