The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) has raised critical notes regarding President Prabowo Subianto's statement about a massive "gold mountain" and mineral deposits in the Papuan Highlands. Analysts assess that the public needs to understand the fundamental difference between geological potential and reserves ready for commercial exploitation.
Head of the Center of Industry, Trade, and Investment at Indef, Andry Satrio Nugroho, emphasized that the terminology 'reserves' in the mining industry has strict technical standards. The initial survey results found currently are more accurately described as indications or potential, rather than proven reserves ready for immediate mining.
"The claim needs to be re-examined through intensive exploration stages. Technically, reserve status can only be established after exploration activities are proven and capable of providing data certainty," Andry stated on Sunday (12/7/2026).
Furthermore, Andry highlighted that Papua indeed has a long history as a region abundant in mineral wealth. However, Indonesia's main challenge does not lie in the availability of potential, but in the ability to turn that potential into high-value-added mining operations for the country.
The development of new mining projects in Papua faces highly complex logistical and operational obstacles. These challenges include extreme geographical conditions, limited basic infrastructure, regional security issues, as well as risks of overlapping with conservation areas and sensitive mine tailings management issues.
Beyond technical issues, Indef also questioned the capacity of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) if appointed as the main manager of the project. Given the current business profile of mining SOEs, which relies more on acquisitions or trading rather than initiating greenfield exploration projects from scratch, the state's capacity to manage Papua's vast potential remains a major question requiring a mature strategy.
