Mineral Processing Seen as Key to Indonesia’s Economic Sovereignty

Indonesia must stop at more than digging up its mineral wealth and shipping it abroad, University of North Sumatra academic Hatta Ridho said. The country needs to turn its resources into products at home if it wants to strengthen its economic sovereignty.

“Until now, we have often thought only that Indonesia produces, extracts, and then sends out the results. Yet what is more important is how to carry out downstream processing and create added value domestically,” Hatta said at a MediaMIND 2026 outreach event organized by INALUM at the university in Medan.

Hatta, dean of the university’s Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, said Indonesia’s large mineral reserves should support the development of downstream industries. Processing commodities such as nickel, aluminum, bauxite, tin and gold could generate greater economic benefits inside the country, while also creating jobs and strengthening industrial capabilities.

The effort is reflected in the integrated downstream ecosystem developed by MIND ID through group companies including ANTAM, Bukit Asam, INALUM and TIMAH. Hatta also stressed that mineral industrialization requires human resources who understand the strategic role of natural resources in national development.

He said students and other young people should help shape new ideas about resource management and downstream processing. The MediaMIND competition, themed “From the Earth for the Sovereignty of the Nation,” gives students a platform to explore those issues and examine the contribution of the mining industry to Indonesia’s economic sovereignty. Hatta said youth involvement should begin early because today’s students will form part of the country’s future leadership.

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Until now, we have often thought only that Indonesia produces, extracts, and then sends out the results. Yet what is more important is how to carry out downstream processing and create added value domestically.