JAKARTA -- President Director of PT Timah Tbk, Restu Widiyantoro, together with MIND ID President Director, Maroef Sjamsoeddin, attended a Public Hearing (RDP) with Commission VI of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) in Jakarta on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.
The hearing, chaired by Commission VI Chairperson Anggia Erma Rini, focused on the evaluation and development of tin trade governance. As is widely known, Indonesia is one of the top three tin producers in the world.
Anggia Erma Rini stated that Indonesia still faces significant challenges in regulating its tin commodity, even though tin is a strategic resource needed by many countries for various industries.
"Indonesia's tin commodity faces numerous challenges. The regulations governing the tin business process are still considered very weak. Poor oversight has led to rampant illegal mining activities, with illegally mined tin easily entering the supply chain. This has resulted in tin smuggling abroad, loss of state revenue from taxes, and damage to Indonesia’s image in the global market," said Anggia.
She also noted that despite being the largest tin producer and exporter in the world, Indonesia still cannot determine global tin prices, which are influenced by international tin exchanges.
President Director of PT Timah, Restu Widiyantoro, stated that the company has made various efforts to improve its performance, including addressing illegal mining within PT Timah’s mining license areas.
"We are working to improve the governance and security of our mining concession areas. Illegal mining within PT Timah’s licensed areas disrupts our operational performance, even though we have already taken several enforcement actions," he said.
Restu outlined several measures PT Timah has taken to combat illegal mining within its concession areas, including issuing warnings and removing unauthorized parties, relocating illegal mining rafts to shorelines, dismantling rafts by their owners, joint team efforts to dismantle mining equipment, and securing equipment to be handed over to law enforcement.
"We ask for support from Commission VI of the DPR RI to help strengthen PT Timah’s performance so we can contribute positively to the nation, the state, and society," Restu said.
Other members of Commission VI also proposed various solutions to prevent illegal mining, such as involving local communities through cooperatives or village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) to conduct legal mining within PT Timah's concession areas.
"There must be productive solutions to address illegal mining. The real problem is not the small miners, but the backers behind them. These illegal miners should be organized through cooperatives, such as a ‘Red and White Tin Cooperative,’ that partners with PT Timah. They should mine only within PT Timah’s licensed areas and not sell outside the company," said Commission VI Vice Chair Nurdin Halid.
Echoing this sentiment, Commission VI member Firnando emphasized that illegal mining not only harms PT Timah but also poses a serious environmental threat in Bangka Belitung.
"The issue of illegal mining must be resolved. It’s not just about losses for PT Timah but also environmental destruction. Illegal miners are a danger, but we must be cautious—they are local people, and we must not hurt them. We need a formula to prevent them from becoming illegal miners. Those who work in PT Timah's licensed areas must follow the company’s mining plan and not damage PT Timah’s mining structure or the environment," he said.
