President Joko Widodo Inaugurates PT Smelting Copper Smelter Expansion
15 December 2023
President Joko Widodo inaugurates the expansion of copper concentrate processing capacity at PT Smelting, Gresik, East Java on Thursday (14/12). PT Smelting is the first smelter of PT Freeport Indonesia, built in 1996 in collaboration with a Japanese consortium and operated by Mitsubishi, in terms of meeting the requirement to downstream minerals in Indonesia. Also present was the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Freeport-McMoRan, Richard C. Adkerson, the President and Director of Freeport-McMoRan, Kathleen L. Quirk and PTFI President Director, Tony Wenas.
Since 2022, the construction process to expand the copper concentrate processing capacity at PT Smelting has begun with an investment of US$ 250 million.
Joko Widodo in his speech, lauds the PTFI commitment in takes play a role in making a positive impact on the country's economic progress.
"This shows the commitment of PT Freeport Indonesia and Mitsubishi to build downstream through expansion, so that added value can be found in Indonesia," Joko Widodo said.
With this commitment, Freeport Indonesia is simultaneously increasing its stake in PT Smelting from ownership of 39.5% shares to 65%.
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By early 2024, PT Smelting is targeted would be able to operate under a new capacity from one million metric tons to 1.3 million metric tons per year.
Joko Widodo said he hopes that with the expansion of PT Smelting's factory and another smelter being built by PTFI in Gresik with a capacity of 1.7 million metric tons of copper concentrate per year, Indonesia will be able to produce a total of three million metric tons of copper concentrate.
In addition to completing expansion of PT Smelting, PTFI is also in the process of completing the world's largest single-line copper mega smelter project in the Java Integrated Industrial and Ports Estate (JIIPE) area, Gresik, East Java, with around 100 hectares.
This second smelter will have a processing capacity of 1.7 million dmt of copper concentrate to produce 550,000 tons of copper cathode per year. As such, operation of this second smelter will enable PTFI to refine up to 3 million dmt of copper concentrate per year, thereby fulfilling the mandate regarding smelter development set out in IUPK.
(Puspita Saraswati)
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