REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- State enterprises minister Dahlan Iskan has asked PT Timah to build a plant immediately to process the rare earth material found in the company's tin mining area.

"The value of the materials is very high. There is a demand for it in the production of electronic goods. Now PT Timah must process it by itself because the material has a very high strategic value for the Indonesian nation," he informed Antara through a text message, here on Tuesday.

Dahlan added that for many years PT Timah has only left wastes to be bought by other parties for exports.

"PT Timah has only taken the tin and has dumped the rest while the waste could have been processed again to develop rare earth materials," he elaborated.

In connection to that, he planned to go to Bangka Island on Friday to ensure that the rare earth material processing project is implemented.

"I will give PT Timah's board of directors a year to implement it," he added.

The minister explained that the state-owned tin mining company's financial performance has continued to improve since 2013, and so, it is financially as well as technically capable of building the plant.

He added that there are four elements that can be developed because of their high value namley Lantanum (La), Cerium (Ce), Praseodimium (Pr) and Neodimium (Nd).

"These rare earth raw materials have now become very important globally, because they are used in making TV screens, laptops, hand phones and other electronic components," the minister pointed out.

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