11 January 2023
Mining business actors highlighted the government's plan to ban exports of copper concentrates in the middle of this year to encourage the downstream. Business players consider this step to be too hasty amidst the condition of the mineral processing factory (smelter) infrastructure that is not yet optimal. According to calculations by business actors, there will be 2.7 million tons of copper concentrate that cannot be processed or wasted if the export ban is enforced in the middle of this year.
Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Mining Experts (Perhapi), Rizal Kasli, explained that this number was calculated from the production capacity of two copper mining companies, PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) and PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara; both companies have an annual production capacity of 3.1 million tons and 900,000 tonnes. According to Rizal, so far, there is only one copper smelter capable of processing copper concentrate into advanced products with an input capacity of 1 million tons owned by PT Smelting Gresik.
It is planned that PT Smelting's smelting capacity will be increased by 300 thousand tons per year. So the projected absorption of copper concentrate in the country is only around 1.3 million tons per year with an output of 300 thousand tons of cathode copper. "There are 2.7 million tons that cannot be processed domestically. Again, like it or not, they have to be exported. If not, Freeport and Amman will stop production," Rizal told Katadata.co.id, Wednesday (11/1).
Rizal added that the government needs to study the amount of production capacity, absorption, and remaining concentrate that cannot be processed before implementing a moratorium on copper concentrates. "In our opinion, the government is trying to recalculate because currently, the processing infrastructure is only from PT Smelting," said Rizal.
According to data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, as of November 2022, there are two copper smelters have been operating, which are PT Smelting and the smelter owned by PT Batutua Tembaga Raya in Maluku with an output capacity of around 25 thousand tons of cathode copper per year. Apart from that, two other smelters are in the construction process: PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) in Gresik, East Java, and the one owned by PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (AMNT) in Benete, West Sumbawa Regency, West Nusa Tenggara.
The Head of the MIND ID Institutional Relations Division, Niko Chandra, conveyed that the construction progress of the PTFI Gresik smelter by the end of December 2022 had reached around 50% and was targeted to complete by the end of 2023. "The refining facility will be able to start operating at the end of May 2024. And then, in stages, we will increase our operational output so that we can operate commercially at the end of 2024," Niko said via text message on Wednesday (11/1).
Niko said he explained that PTFI's refinery construction project includes three main projects, including a new copper smelter with a capacity of 1.7 million tons per year in the Gresik Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate (JIIPE) industrial area.
Meanwhile, the procurement of a copper smelter owned by PT Amman Mineral in West Sumbawa Regency is projected to complete by the end of 2024. Amman Mineral's Corporate Communications Manager, Kartika Octaviana, said that the development of the smelter construction until November 2022 had reached 47% with a total investment value of US$ 1 million.
The copper smelter will be able to produce up to 222,000 tons of copper cathodes per year from an input of 900 thousand tons of concentrate. This copper processing and refining plant was built in the Batu Hijau area, close to the company's mine site. "The concentrated sand is processed in a smelter, and a copper cathode is released in the form of plates," said Kartika when met at the House of Representative's Nusantara I Building on Thursday (10/11/2022).
Kami menghimbau para pencari kerja untuk berhati-hati dan mewaspadai beragam modus penipuan perekrutan yang mengatasnamakan PT Freeport Indonesia. Dalam setiap proses rekrutmen dan penerimaan karyawan, PT Freeport Indonesia maupun konsultan rekruitmennya tidak memungut biaya apapun.
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