PT Freeport asked to set up smelting, refining venture in Papua

The Jakarta Post

JAYAPURA (Antara): Papua's Provincial Legislative Council has asked giant copper and gold mining company PT Freeport Indonesia to set up a venture locally to handle the smelting and refining of waste products from its mining operations in the Tembagapura area in Mimika district, a spokesman said.

"Such a smelting company is very important for a less-developed province like Papua as it can create more jobs and improve the local people's welfare," Jan Ayomi, a commission’s chairman at the council said Friday.

By opening a venture, PT Freeport Indonesia – a subsidiary to giant gold and copper mining and exploration company Freeport McMoran -- would be able to utilize its waste products to make feedstock for cement industries, he said.

It would not only contribute to the country's foreign exchange earnings by exporting its products but also create many job opportunities for the local population, Ayomi said.

A similar smelting company already existed in Gresik, East Java, he added.

The idea of asking PT Freeport Indonesia to open a company smelting and refining mining wastes from its Tembagapura mining operations emerged after some members of the council visited PT Smelting in Gresik recently.

Papua's council had also urged PT Freeport Indonesia to revise its work contract and move its Indonesian head office (from Jakarta) to Jayapura, the Papua's provincial capital.

PT Freeport Indonesia operates in two segments: mining and exploration as well as smelting and refining.

A Wright report said the company's mining and exploration segment includes copper and gold mining operations located in the highlands of the Sudirman Mountain Range in Papua or formerly known as Irian Jaya.

The smelting and refining segment includes Atlantic Copper's operations in Spain and PT Freeport Indonesia's equity investment in PT Smelting in Gresik.

The group smelts and refines copper concentrates in Spain and markets the refined copper products, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Atlantic Copper SA.