Indonesia Nickel Companies: Top 10 in 2026

Indonesia nickel companies now control the largest share of any critical mineral market on earth. The country produced an estimated 2.6 million tonnes of mined nickel in 2025, up from 2.31 million tonnes in 2024, putting its share of global mine production at roughly 67% against a world total of 3.9 million tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026). That dominance rests on a small group of miners, state enterprises and Chinese-backed industrial parks that between them decide the price and availability of nickel for the stainless steel and EV battery supply chains covered on our Indonesia critical minerals hub, and it sets the tone for CMN’s nickel price tracker.

How We Ranked the Top 10 Indonesia Nickel Companies

This list of Indonesia nickel companies is ranked by production scale, degree of vertical integration (mine to smelter to battery-grade output) and strategic weight in Indonesia’s downstream policy. We favour operators with disclosed reserve or output data over those where figures are commercially withheld, and we flag where ownership or production numbers are estimated rather than audited.

1. PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP)

IMIP in Central Sulawesi is Indonesia’s largest integrated nickel processing complex, running 11 smelters producing nickel pig iron, ferronickel and stainless steel, alongside newer HPAL lines feeding battery precursor material. The park is majority owned by China’s Tsingshan Group through Shanghai Decent Investment Group, with Indonesia’s Bintang Delapan Group and PT Sulawesi Mining Investment holding the balance (reported splits vary by source, roughly 46 to 50% Shanghai Decent). Total investment since 2015 has reportedly reached $34.3 billion. IMIP’s scale, and its reliance on coal-fired power, make it central to both Indonesia’s export earnings and its emissions problem.

2. PT Weda Bay Nickel (WBN)

Weda Bay in North Maluku is one of the world’s largest single nickel mines, anchoring the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP). Ownership is split between Tsingshan (51.3%), France’s Eramet (37.8%) and state miner Antam (10%). Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara has recently signalled interest in acquiring Eramet’s stake, a deal that would hand the state a majority position in one of the country’s most important nickel assets. The 2025 government quota cut at Weda Bay was one of the sharpest of any major Indonesian site.

3. PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (IDX: INCO)

Vale Indonesia operates from Sorowako, South Sulawesi, and produces nickel matte using largely hydropower-fed smelters, giving it the lowest carbon intensity of Indonesia’s major producers. As of mid-2024, state holding company MIND ID became the largest shareholder with 34%, ahead of Vale Canada Limited (33.9%) and Sumitomo Metal Mining (11.5%), with the remainder publicly traded, a shift covered in more depth in our Vale Base Metals profile. The divestment was a condition of extending Vale’s mining licence through to 2035.

4. PT Aneka Tambang Tbk / Antam (IDX: ANTM)

Antam is Indonesia’s state-owned diversified miner, operating nickel assets across Sulawesi, North Maluku and Papua under holding company MIND ID. Beyond its own ferronickel smelting at Pomalaa, Antam holds minority stakes in Weda Bay Nickel and wholly owns PT Gag Nikel. Antam’s dual role, as an operator and as the government’s vehicle for taking stakes in foreign-controlled projects, makes it a bellwether for Jakarta’s downstreaming policy.

5. Harita Nickel / PT Trimegah Bangun Persada (IDX: NCKL)

Harita Nickel, part of the Harita Group, pioneered High-Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) processing in Indonesia at its Obi Island complex in North Maluku, converting low-grade limonite ore into mixed hydroxide precipitate for battery supply chains. The company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2023. HPAL’s dependence on sulfuric acid as the leaching agent was exposed as a bottleneck during the episode covered in our Indonesia nickel supply crisis report, and Harita’s HPAL-first strategy gives it materially lower emissions intensity per tonne of nickel than the RKEF-heavy producers on this list.

6. PT Merdeka Battery Materials Tbk (IDX: MBMA)

MBMA, backed by Merdeka Copper Gold and the Saratoga Group, is built around the SCM (Sulawesi Cahaya Mineral) mine in Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi, which holds ore reserves of 578.8 million wet tonnes containing an estimated 4.4 million tonnes of nickel. MBMA runs RKEF smelters producing nickel pig iron and a nickel matte converter, and is developing a third HPAL facility (PT Sulawesi Nickel Cobalt) targeting initial commissioning in mid-2026.

7. Nickel Industries Limited (ASX: NIC)

Nickel Industries is the main foreign listed vehicle for exposure to Indonesian nickel outside direct IDX-listed stock, holding interests in Hengjaya and Oracle Nickel RKEF projects inside IMIP and the Angel Nickel RKEF project inside IWIP. Its Excelsior Nickel Cobalt (ENC) HPAL project is targeting commissioning in 2026 with capacity above 70,000 tonnes of nickel equivalent, giving the company a growing foothold in battery-grade material alongside its established NPI base.

8. PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama

Ceria is a fully Indonesian-owned nickel miner and processor in Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi, notable for having no foreign shareholders in a sector dominated by Chinese joint ventures. Its Merah Putih RKEF smelter began commercial ferronickel production in April 2025, with an HPAL line under development as part of a planned $8 billion complex. Ceria has held talks with Glencore over a potential stake and financing ahead of a planned IPO.

9. PT Central Omega Resources Tbk (IDX: DKFT)

Central Omega mines nickel ore and operates a ferronickel smelter in North Morowali through subsidiary PT COR Industri Indonesia, with a stated production capacity of 3 million tonnes a year of ore and 100,000 tonnes a year of ferronickel. The company is a smaller, purely domestic IDX-listed operator relative to the Chinese-backed industrial parks, and is currently expanding smelter capacity through a second-phase project.

10. PT Gag Nikel

Gag Nikel, wholly owned by Antam, mines nickel laterite on Gag Island in Raja Ampat, West Papua, one of only five nickel permits in the archipelago and the sole one not revoked following 2025 environmental complaints. Antam’s own reporting puts Gag’s reserves at 56 million wet tonnes, more than 11% of the group’s total. Operations resumed in September 2025 under increased government monitoring after a temporary suspension, making Gag a live ESG and supply-continuity risk for buyers sourcing Antam material.

Indonesia Nickel Companies: Summary Comparison

The Outlook for Indonesia Nickel Companies in 2026

The picture for Indonesia nickel companies in 2026 is one of consolidation rather than fresh capacity growth. Ore quotas have been cut sharply at several major sites, the government is pushing state vehicles like MIND ID and Danantara deeper into foreign-controlled assets, and the industry’s centre of gravity keeps shifting from NPI toward HPAL and battery-grade material. For procurement and investment teams, ownership structure, not just production volume, is becoming the key variable: several companies on this list have changed hands or diluted foreign partners within the past 24 months, and more state-backed consolidation looks likely through the rest of the year. Environmental scrutiny, particularly around sites like Gag Island, adds a further layer of supply risk that buyers cannot ignore. For the global picture beyond Indonesia, see our Top 10 Nickel Mining Companies list.