Perkembangan Kebijakan Hukum Pertambangan Mineral dan Batubara di Indonesia
Authors: Redi Ahmad , Marfungah Luthfi 
Published: December 2022

Mineral and coal mining activities in Indonesia have been going on for a long time, and because of that, many legal instruments that support them have been established. This article traces the development of mineral and coal mining policies from the colonial period to the current reform, with the aim of capturing in general the dynamics of the existing policy developments. The study of this article shows that mining policies during the colonial period were part of the politics of colonialization, so that they were exploitative and monopolistic in character. For this purpose, a concession/permit management system is applied. After independence, the spirit of nationalism was embodied in a law that allowed for the nationalization of foreign mining companies, as well as closing the meeting for foreign investment. However, since 1967, foreign investment has been widely opened, as well as the introduction and use of an enterprise system based on a contract of work, a work agreement, and a mining authorization. Post-reformation, with the spirit of decentralization and regional autonomy, mining policy was directed to support the authority of mining management by local governments, and at the same time, started to use a system of exploitation based on mining business permits. Recent developments, the authority of this local government was taken over by the central government. The various dynamics of these developments show that mineral and coal mining has always been seen as a strategic commodity so that it deserves to be contested, whether it was formerly by the colonial authorities or later by the central and local governments, and laws were then enacted to support these goals.
Abstrak
Aktivitas pertambangan mineral dan batubara di Indonesia telah berlangsung sejak lama, dan karena itu, instrumen hukum yang mendukungnya tentu telah banyak pula dibentuk. Artikel ini menelusuri perkembangan kebijakan pertambangan mineral dan batubara dari masa kolonial sampai reformasi saat ini, dengan tujuan memotret secara umum dinamika perkembangan kebijakan yang ada. Kajian artikel ini memperlihatkan kebijakan pertambangan pada masa kolonial merupakan bagian dari politik kolonialisasi, sehingga berwatak eksploitatif dan monopolistik. Untuk kebutuhan tersebut, diberlakukan sistem pengusahaan konsensi/izin. Setelah kemerdekaan, semangat nasionalisme dituangkan dalam hukum yang memungkinkan dilakukannya nasionalisasi terhadap perusahaan-perusahaan tambang asing, sekaligus menutup rapat bagi investasi asing. Namun, sejak 1967, investasi asing dibuka lebar, sekaligus mulai diperkenalkan dan digunakan sistem pengusahaan berdasarkan kontrak karya, perjanjian karya, dan kuasa pertambangan. Pasca-reformasi, dengan semangat desentralisasi dan otonomi daerah, maka kebijakan pertambangan diarahkan untuk mendukung kewenangan pengelolaan pertambangan oleh pemerintah daerah, dan pada saat bersamaan, mulai digunakan sistem pengusahaan berdasarkan izin usaha pertambangan. Perkembangan terkini, kewenangan pemerintah daerah ini diambil alih oleh pemerintah pusat. Berbagai dinamika perkembangan tersebut memperlihatkan bahwa pertambangan mineral dan batubara selalu dipandang sebagai komoditas strategis sehingga layak diperebutkan, entah itu dulunya oleh penguasa kolonial maupun belakangan oleh pemerintah pusat dan daerah, dan hukum kemudian diadakan untuk mendukung tujuan-tujuan tersebut.