17 July 2024
Gresik, East Java, 17 July 2024 – Republic of Indonesia House of Representatives (DPR RI) Commission VII Deputy Chairman Eddy Soeparno expressed appreciation for the accomplishment made by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) with regard to the smelter located in the special economic zone (KEK) in Gresik, as smelter development proceeded smoothly with the smelter now commencing operation.
“We offer our greatest appreciation for PTFI, for achieving the smelter’s operation stage in conformance with the timeline mutually agreed with the government. The smelter operation will continue to run smoothly until production commences in August, with full production reached in December 2024,” House Commission VII Deputy Chairman Eddy Soeparno said during a visit to the Freeport smelter on Wednesday.
Eddy said the Freeport Smelter is vital towards supporting Indonesia’s mineral downstreaming program. He voiced the hope that the smelter will bring optimum benefits for the nation and state.
“It is my hope that smelter production will develop further so that PTFI output can be absorbed domestically. Following the PTFI smelter’s emergence, there is greater urgency felt by the government to bring about derivative product industries to ensure the PTFI smelter’s value-added output is not only exported but is also consumed and processed in the country,” he said.
Eddy expressed the hope that the government, in this case the Industry Ministry, will come up with policies to accelerate the growth of domestic industries, among others, to utilize products from the PTFI Smelter.
PTFI President Director Tony Wenas in his presentation conveyed from August 2024 through December 2024 the PTFI smelter will be refining 400 thousand tons of copper concentrate.
“We plan to begin production in August and ramp up to 100% by December 2024. Once we reach full operation, the combined input capacities of the PTFI smelter and PT Smelting smelter will enable domestic refining of PTFI’s entire copper concentrate production, amounting to approximately 3 million tons per year,” Tony said.
Tony continued, when production is fully in place, copper concentrate produced from PTFI’s mining operation in Papua will be entirely refined in the country. “Our common task is to ensure copper cathode produced in the PTFI smelter can be consumed domestically. Further downstream industries should emerge to utilize the copper cathode produced in the PTFI smelter,” Tony said.
The primary final products from the PTFI smelter are copper cathode and gold and silver bullion. Byproducts include sulfuric acid, slag, PGM, and selenium.
During their visit, House Commission VII personally toured various areas in the smelter site, including the refinery, the smelter operation area, the sulfuric acid facility, the control room, and the anode casting unit.
| PHOTO | CAPTION |
|---|---|
|
|
Members of Indonesia House of Representatives Commission VII touring the Anode Casting area, which is equipped for casting copper anode from the liquified copper produced from smelting. |
|
|
Members of RI House of Representatives Commission VII touring the Anode Casting area, which is equipped for casting copper anode from the liquified copper produced from smelting. |
|
|
During the field tour, House Commission VII visited the Central Control Room to observe the technology and control system used in smelter operation up close. |
About PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI)
PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) is a copper mineral company affiliated with Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID). PTFI mines and processes ore to produce the mineral copper containing gold and silver.
PTFI markets copper concentrate to all parts of the world, and primarily to a domestic copper smelter, PT Smelting. The PTFI mining operation is located in the Grasberg mineral district in Papua – Indonesia. PTFI is currently conducting the biggest underground mining operation in the world using the block caving method. In conducting its mining operation, PTFI promotes and upholds responsible business practices.
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.
Untuk melihat lowongan, silakan akses melalui link berikut: ptfi e-recruitment
Untuk melihat informasi magang, silakan akses melalui link berikut: Internship Program
