Indonesia may seize mining operations spanning around 190,000 hectares of illegally cleared forest as part of an ongoing crackdown on unlawful resource extraction, a senior official told parliament on Monday.
Deputy Forestry Minister Rohmat Marzuki said authorities had identified 191,790 hectares of mining activity operating without the required forestry permits, which could therefore be deemed illegal. He did not disclose the companies involved, the number of operators affected, the commodities being extracted, or a timeline for potential seizures.
Marzuki said a military-backed forestry task force had already taken control of 8,769 hectares and would continue efforts to reclaim the full area identified. He added that the forestry ministry remained committed to recovering forest land from both illegal mining operations and unauthorised oil palm plantations.
Indonesia’s sweeping enforcement campaign has seen military-led teams move to take over palm plantations and mining sites, unsettling the industry and contributing to higher global palm oil prices amid concerns over potential supply disruptions. The measures have also supported recent rallies in metals prices, including tin.
The forestry task force said last week it had seized around 8,800 hectares of land where nickel, coal, quartz sand and limestone were being mined. It has also taken over oil palm plantations covering 4.1 million hectares, an area roughly equivalent to the size of the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General of Indonesia has assessed potential fines of 109.6 trillion rupiah ($6.47 billion) for palm oil companies and 32.63 trillion rupiah for mining firms found to have operated within forest areas without authorisation.
