Indonesia’s New Nickel Mining Rules Could Spark A Chinese Exodus

AsiaIndonesia’s New Nickel Mining Rules Could Spark A Chinese ExodusByTim Treadgold,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Tim Treadgold is an Australian journalist specializing in miningFollow AuthorJun 09, 2026, 08:20pm EDTAerial view of nickel smelters operated by Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry in Morosi, Indonesia. (Photo by Andry Denisah/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesIndonesia’s nickel boom is fading but the Chinese technology which made it possible could soon start a similar surge of overproduction of the battery metal in Africa.A flood of Indonesian nickel has been the prime cause of a collapse in the price of the metal which is also used to make stainless steel.Going down. The price of nickel has almost halved over the last four yearsgettyOver the last four years the price of nickel has crashed from $30,000 a ton to less than $18,000/t but did drop to a low as $14,200 late last year.It was the fall in mid-December which served as a wake-up call for the government of Indonesia that the nickel industry which it had actively encouraged was doing more harm than good.As well as surface mining clearing extensive tracts of forest the electricity demands of the mainly Chinese owned and operated nickel smelters required the burning of large amounts of coal.Tighter government regulations, including reduced mining and export quotas along with higher taxes, has led to some mine closures and reduced operations of the preferred nickel processing technology using rotary kiln electric furnaces (RKEF).Chines Miners AnnoyedThe new rules are also straining the once close relationship between the government and Chinese mining and metal processing companies which are reported to be planning investment in other countries, including Tanzania, Madagascar and New Caledonia.MORE FOR YOUThe new Indonesian mining and processing regulations are a factor in a forecast from a nickel industry lobby...