West Nusa Tenggara
Two-island province: Lombok's Mandalika MotoGP tourism vs. Sumbawa's Batu Hijau copper-gold (6.6B lbs Cu reserves).
Two islands with diverging destinies share a single province. Lombok developed as Bali's quieter neighbor, drawing tourists to Mount Rinjani, the Gili Islands, and now the Mandalika MotoGP circuit. Sumbawa took a different path: when Newmont discovered porphyry copper at Batu Hijau in 1990, the island became home to Indonesia's second-largest copper-gold mine. PT Amman Mineral now controls reserves of 6.6 billion pounds copper and 8.1 million ounces gold.
West Nusa Tenggara received Rp 54.55 trillion in investment in 2024, split between beach resorts and pit mines. The government designated Lombok as Indonesia's second international tourism destination after Bali; PT Amman Mineral trains local youth in hospitality while extracting copper offshore. The same ferries shuttle surfers to Kuta Beach, Lombok and miners to Sumbawa's smelters.
This dual economy creates unusual policy tensions. Tourism requires preserved coastlines; mining requires processing infrastructure. By 2026, West Nusa Tenggara will test whether copper revenues can fund Lombok's hospitality development—or whether the two islands' economies remain as disconnected as their geological histories.