Indonesia Receives Mining Proposal From Tesla
Indonesia has reportedly received an investment proposal from Tesla Inc. requesting access to its nickel reserves. Once the largest producer of nickel in the entire world, Indonesia’s government started enacting regulations on the exportation of specific mineral ores in an effort to boost the local smelting industry and set up a more robust supply chain focused on lithium batteries.
This resulted in a huge price surge in 2019, as the nation began running mining opportunities under the noses of various industries that would be interested in the raw materials necessary for battery production.
According to Reuters, Indonesia’s deputy head for investment and mining coordination, Septian Hario Seto, received the news on Friday morning. “I received their proposal yesterday morning … next week we will meet them [virtually] to get an official explanation,” he said.
While a non-disclosure agreement limited what else Septian could say, he did note that previous discussions revolved around battery production and that the country likely wouldn’t be interested if the automaker was singularly interested in ore. As previously stated, the Indonesian government essentially shut down its lucrative nickel exportation business just so it could beef up supply chains and doesn’t want that to be for nothing.
“If they only want to buy raw materials, we are not interested. This [proposal] is beyond just taking the raw material,” Septian explained.
[Image: Jag_cz/Shutterstock]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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