Vol. 14 No. 3 (2011): INDONESIAN MINING JOURNAL Vol. 14 No. 3 October 2011

The current journal which focuses on mineral and coal technology is in accordance with Law 4/2009 about Mineral and Coal Mining, particularly with Articles 95 (c), 102, 103 and 170. These articles emphasize that holders of mining licences must increase value added of mineral and coal resources in the implementation of mining operation, processing and utilization. The holders of mining licence of operation and production must domestically conduct process the mineral and coal. It is also stressed that these obligations must be carried out 5 years after the issue of this law.

Government Regulation 23/2010 about the implementation of mining business is explained in Articles 84, 93-96 and 112. The article states that the holder of mining licence of operation and production must prioritize the demand of mineral and coal for domestic use. Articles 93-96 mention the increase of value added. Process of these commodities will be decided by ministerial regulation. Article 112 states that mining authority, mining licence of small-scale that have been provided prior to the issue of the Government Regulation must conduct the process of these commodities domestically 5 years after the issue of Law 4/2009. The main point value added increase are as follows: a). to increase and optimalize mining products, b). to fulfil domestic demand, c). to increase national revenue, and d). to increase manpower recruitment.

According to the Government Regulation 23/2010, research and development institutions have some opportu- nities for the issue as the followings: a). to increase value added by processing metallic and non-metallic minerals and rocks, b). to join with the holders of mining licences in processing the commodities especially for the national interest, and c). to propose the result of the process to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources as regulations on the processing of mineral and coal.

From all the papers published in this journal, R&D Centre should conduct something new to anticipate all the above challenges rather than to cope with all problems. It is really expected that Law 4/2009 would accommo- date the supply-demand aspect of the mineral and coal commodities, which are perfectly processed in line with the user demands. The applied technologies for mineral and coal should be improved to obtain value added of the commodities.

The Editor