JAKARTA - A majority of the nickel ore shipped from Indonesia the last few months, when the government detected a sudden surge, were exports that did not comply with the country's regulations, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan told The Straits Times.

In an interview on Friday (Nov 8), the retired army general warned that stern action will be taken against errant mining firms which had exported higher-grade nickel and those which shipped out more than their allotted quota.