The government intends to speed up negotiations with gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia, aiming to reach a win-win solution regarding the company’s future operations within the next one or two months. The subsidiary of the United States-based mining giant Freeport-McMoRan has recently obtained a temporary special mining permit (IUPK) by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry that allows the company to export 1.11 million wet metric tons (wmt) of copper concentrate for a year. On the other hand, both sides have a period of six months, until Oct. 10, to settle various issues, including on investment stability, divestment and smelter construction. “However, [Energy and Mineral Resources] Minister Ignasius Jonan hopes it can be settled within one or two months,” the ministry’s secretary-general, Teguh Pamudji, told reporters on Thursday. Meanwhile, Freeport-McMoRan president and CEO Richard C. Adkerson said the key issue for his side was the government’s assurance that the company would be able to operate in Indonesia after 2021. Through the assurance, he said, the miner could have the confidence to continue developing an underground mine in Papua with an investment value of around US$15 billion. “So, we’re going to deal with those issues in a way that is acceptable to the government and the people of Indonesia, as well as to Freeport’s shareholders,” Adkerson said.
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