Jakarta,  Indonesia plans to stop the exports of bauxite ore in 2022 and copper ore in 2023 as an attempt to boost investments in the downstream sector and exports of higher value semi-finished or finished products, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said.

Bauxite ore is the main material for aluminum, while copper concentrates are widely used in the production of precious metals such as gold and silver.

Indonesia is a big exporter of these metals. The country mainly exports the two mineral commodities to Asian countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Starting January 1, 2020, the Southeast Asian country banned nickel ore exports.

The world's largest nickel ore producing country aims to push miners to develop smelters and refine the metal ore domestically so they can export higher-value products.