Two of the world’s leading commodities players plan to set up ore refineries in Indonesia to take advantage of the country’s policy banning unprocessed ore exports, beginning next year.

Senior executives of the two companies, the world’s fourth biggest diversified miner, Glencore Xstrata and the world’s biggest aluminum producer, United Company RUSAL, expressed their interest, respectively, to Industry Minister MS Hidayat and Coordinating Economic Minister Mr Hatta Rajasa during separate meetings on Tuesday.

Mr Hidayat said that the firm had already carried out a feasibility study on building facilities to process bauxite and nickel ore locally. He declined to elaborate on the size of the investments or the locations of the refineries, but estimated that one refinery might cost US$1 billion and suggested that they might be located in the eastern part of the archipelago.

He said that “Glencore asked about our commitment to consistently implement our mineral export ban. If we are committed to the ban, it will invest in Indonesia to build processing facilities for bauxite and nickel. Glencore, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and headquartered in Switzerland, would be likely to build and operate its smelter in cooperation with a local firm.