ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The Center for Mineral, Coal and Geothermal Resources of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will collaborate with a French company, PT. Eramet Indonesia Mining to conduct critical mineral studies and exploration in Indonesia.
“Critical minerals, such as nickel, cobalt and lithium, are commodities that are urgently needed in the development of future technology, especially for electric vehicle batteries. With a comprehensive study, it is hoped that new critical mineral reserves that are larger and have high economic value can be discovered. ” said the Head of the Center for Mineral, Coal and Geothermal Resources, Agung Pribadi, during a meeting with Eramet in Jakarta, Tuesday, October 15 2024.
Agung said the collaboration with Eramet covers several aspects, including the study and investigation of critical mineral prospect areas that have not been developed in Indonesia, ore characterization and metallurgical processes related to nickel, and lithium exploration from geothermal brine. This collaboration also opens up opportunities for knowledge exchange related to lithium exploration, mineral inventory and joint scientific publications.
Agung continued that in the near future there will be a planned agenda for investigating lithium in Grobogan Regency, Central Java, which will begin on October 21 2024. This investigation is a follow-up to the lithium brine study which was initiated in 2023 in the Bleduk Kuwu area and its surroundings.
“This activity will involve geophysical and geochemical methods, with us and Eramet contributing to the use of different equipment and techniques. In this case, the geophysical methods that will be used include gravity, ground magnetic and magnetotelluric by us, as well as geoelectric, self-potential , and passive seismic by Eramet,” he said.
The technical preparations for this activity have been carried out since August 2024, and the next step is licensing and outreach to the local government on October 21 2024. Apart from that, geochemical methods in the form of taking brine water samples will also be carried out by the Center for Mineral, Coal and Geothermal Resources team for further analysis in the laboratory.
Furthermore, as part of the implementation of the collaboration, a delegation from the Geological Agency and the Center for Mineral, Coal and Geothermal Resources is scheduled to visit the Eramet R&D facility in Paris, France, in early December 2024. This visit aims to study lithium extraction technology from geothermal brine which is being developed by Eramet, while strengthening the transfer of knowledge in the context of developing the critical mineral industry in Indonesia. (AT Network)
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