Impact Of Underground Landslides, Freeport Operations New Back To Normal 2027

JAKARTA - Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) revealed that the operation of the Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) underground mine will only return to normal in 2027. This is the result of the landslide incident that occurred on September 8, 2025 ago.

"The target is to return to production levels before the incident in 2027," McMoRan management wrote, quoted Thursday, September 25.

Management said the incident occurred in the PB1C production block but damaged the infrastructure needed to support other production areas.

"PTFI is evaluating the impact of the incident on the production plan. Production projections will be adjusted to the required repair schedule as well as the restart stage and increased production," the management continued.

Based on the management report, the GBC ore body represents 50 percent of the proven reserves and is suspected of PTFI as of December 31, 2024, and about 70 percent of the projected production of copper and gold until 2029.

Meanwhile, PTFI estimates that the unaffected Big Gossan and Deep MLZ mines could restart operations in the middle of the fourth quarter of 2025. while the gradual return of GBC mining operations is scheduled for the first half of 2026.

Thus, PTFI's copper and gold sales will be limited to the fourth quarter of 2025, well below the previous estimate of 445 million pounds of copper and 345,000 gold ounces.

Meanwhile, the initial stage of the GBC restart is estimated to involve PB2 and PB3 in the first semester of 2026, then PB1S in the second semester of 2026, and the rest in PB1C in 2027.

In this scenario, PTFI's production in 2026 has the potential to be 35 percent lower than pre-incident estimates. Just so you know, the previous estimate was: 1.7 billion pounds of copper and 1.6 million ounces of gold.

PTFI will optimize its production plan in line with further evaluation. The capital project will be reviewed to prioritize safe production recovery.

PTFI also plans to claim losses through property insurance and business disruptions with coverage of up to 1 billion US dollars.

"As a result of this incident, PTFI informed trading partners about the condition of force majeure in accordance with contract terms," said the management.