DPR Commission VII Appreciates Progress of Freeport Smelter Expansion in Gresik

Jakarta, Armfalcon.com —

PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) and PT Smelting received a working visit from Commission VII DPR RI in the area of ​​PT Smelting, Gresik, East Java, Wednesday (5/4).

The visit of the DPR members was to review the progress of PT Smelting’s expansion as a copper concentrate smelting and processing facility. Currently, the construction progress of PTFi’s smelter facility has reached 76 percent.

Deputy Chairman of Commission VII DPR RI Bambang Haryadi assesses the development of PT Smelting as one of the realizations of PTFI’s commitment to accelerate the downstream mining product program in Indonesia.

“We see that the progress of the construction of the Freeport smelter is quite good. But we all know that the pandemic that hit the world in the last two years has been very disturbing,” said Bambang.

According to him, Commission VII will discuss with all smelter makers, especially PTFI and PT Antam, to find solutions to the pandemic.

The progress of PT Smelting’s expansion by PTFI includes the addition of refinery cells (electrolyte cells to purify concentrate) and an increase in electrical power to 40.45 megawatts.

Through this addition, PT Smelting’s copper concentrate processing capacity will increase from 1 million dry metric tons (dmt) to 1.3 million dmt per year. Thus, cathode copper produced from the processing will increase from 300 thousand tons per year to 350 thousand tons per year.

On the same occasion, PTFI President Director Tony Wenas said that his party is targeting the expansion, which construction has started since 2022, to be completed in November 2023.

This expansion was then followed by an increase in processing capacity until the end of December 2023. So that in early 2024, PT Smelting will be able to operate with a new capacity. With an investment value of 250 million US dollars or equivalent to Rp. 3.2 trillion,

PTFI simultaneously increased its share ownership in PT Smelting from 39.5 percent to 65 percent. Meanwhile, PT Mitsubishi Material Corporation will hold 35 percent of PT Smelting’s shares.

Tony explained that the corporate action in the form of increasing PT Smelting’s processing capacity was in line with the enthusiasm of the Indonesian government to continue to develop the domestic downstream industry.

“This support, which is also followed by creating added value through increasing the company’s investment value and employment, is part of our efforts to continue to contribute to the development of countries wherever we operate,” said Tony.

Apart from completing PT Smelting’s expansion, PTFI is also completing its second smelter in the Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate (JIIPE) Special Economic Zone in Manyar, Gresik. Currently the progress of completion of the smelter has been completed 56.5 percent.

PTFI’s second smelter, which will be completed in December 2023, will have a processing capacity of up to 1.7 million dmt of copper concentrate and can produce 550,000 tons of cathode copper per year.

Through the operation of these two smelters, PTFI will be able to refine up to 3 million dmt of copper concentrate per year and fulfill the mandate of the Special Mining Business Permit (IUPK) regarding the construction of the smelter.

“In the end, the operation of these two smelters will enable PTFI to refine all domestic copper concentrates, as well as further confirm Indonesia’s position as a world-class copper producer,” he said.

“Indonesia will not only be increasingly known as one of the largest copper producing countries in the world, but also qualitatively, as an integrated copper industry from upstream to downstream,” concluded Tony.

(osc)