This Is The Cost That PTFI Disbursed To Build A Smelter With A Capacity Of 1.3 Million Tons

President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia Tony Wenas. (Photo: Maria Trisnawati/VOI)

JAKARTA - The President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo inaugurated the PT Smelting expansion project by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), which is to increase the capacity to refine copper concentrates to 1.3 million tons per year, in Gresik, East Java, on Thursday, December 14.

To expand, PTFI is known to disburse funds of at least Rp3.7 trillion from the previous 1 million tons capacity to 1.3 million tons per year for the production of copper anodes and cathodes.

Thus, PTFI's share ownership in PT Smelting also increased from 39.5 percent to more than 60 percent.

PT Smelting is the first copper smelting and refining factory in Indonesia built by PTFI together with a Japanese consortium as part of the company's commitment to fulfill PTFI's 1991 Work Contract obligations.

PTFI President Director Tony Wenas explained that the expansion of PT Smelting's production capacity by PTFI is part of the realization of the company's commitment to accelerate the downstream program of mining products in Indonesia and create added value for the domestic economy.

"The expansion of PT Smelting is a strategic step to support the government's efforts to increase added value through mining downstream policies in Indonesia," said Tony, Friday, December 15.

With the addition of production capacity at PT Smelting and the operation of the second Smelter of PT Freeport Indonesia, Tony continued, PTFI will be able to purify all mining products of 3 million tons of copper concentrate per year in the country.

"This also fulfills the mandate of a Special Mining Business Permit (IUPK) related to the construction of a smelter," explained Tony.

President Director of PT Smelting Hideya Sato also revealed that this expansion project is PT Smelting's fourth expansion project since its establishment in 1996, making this momentum a new chapter in the growth history of PT Smelting.

"With the completion of the construction of a new factory, we will switch to full production mode at the beginning of next year by processing an average of 1.3 million metric tons of dry copper concentrate per year and producing 342,000 metric tons of copper cathode," said Hideya.

For information, PT Smelting since 1998 has been operating and is a manifestation of PTFI's efforts to support the national downstream policy strategy and create added value for the domestic economy.

PTFI is also completing the construction of the second smelter in the Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate (JIIPE) Special Economic Zone in Manyar, Gresik.

"As of the end of November 2023, the progress of PTFI's smelter construction reached 83 percent. We are optimistic that physical construction will be completed by the end of December 2023, and starting from the pre-commissioning and commissioning stages from January to May 2024. PTFI's second smelter operation will reach full capacity by the end of December 2024," Tony concluded.