Jakarta, Aug. 25 -- President Prabowo Subianto has officially formed the Mineral Industry Agency in an effort to optimize the management of Indonesia's strategic mineral resources.

State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi noted that the agency is led by the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Brian Yuliarto, who was inaugurated as the agency's head at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, on Monday.

"To optimize natural resources, especially strategic minerals, we decided to form an agency," Hadi said after the inauguration event.

According to him, the establishment of the agency is to address the nation's needs in facing the developments of the times and technology, as well as an effort to protect the country's natural re...