According to press reports in South-East Asia, last week, representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Indonesia signed an order prohibiting the export from the country of ore containing nickel and copper. Officially, the document will come into force in 2014, but analysts said the «Interfax-China» agency, the ban on the export of resources mentioned above can begin to act in the spring of 2012.

In nickel production Indonesia is among the five world leaders (with the majority of the republic's subsoil has not been studied). The richest mines of the state is considered to be deposits of the island of Sulawesi, where nickel is mined in open pits Colac, Laron and Soroako. According to preliminary estimates, the amount of resources they make up more than 225 million tons of ore with a nickel content of 1.7 -. 3.3%. Also, the metal contained in ores of the western part of New Guinea island, owned by Indonesia — Irian Jaya. The subsoil of the land contains about 60 million. Tonnes of nickel with a concentration of 1.2%. Considerable reserves of this metal is, and on the island of Waigeo (about 165 mln. Tons of ore containing 1.48% nickel), as well as on the islands of Halmahera, Obi, Gebe and other territorial units of the republic.

For a long period of time, the mining sector in Indonesia have expressed contrasting nature of the export. Regulation policies relating to the export of Indonesian nickel and copper ores, based on the desire of the government to provide a stable supply of raw materials for the needs of domestic consumers, but also on the desire to minimize the impact of external factors on the development of the state economy.