Total Investment in Freeport Gresik Smelter Reaches IDR 58 Trillion

PTFI President Director Tony Wenas (Photo: Doc. VOI)

JAKARTA - PT Freeport Indonesia's copper refining facility or smelter in the Java Integrated Industrial and Ports Estate (JIIPE), Gresik, East Java has officially started operating. The total investment for the smelter project has reached IDR 58 trillion.

"The total investment that we have spent on this project is 3.7 billion dollars or around IDR 58 trillion and this is one of the big investments and is also the portfolio of the Minister of Investment," said PTFI President Director Tony Wenas at the inauguration of the Gresik Smelter operation quoted from Freeport Indonesia's YouTube, Thursday, June 27.

Tony also said that the smelter is the largest single-line smelter in the world and has a production capacity of up to 1.7 million tons of copper concentrate. Meanwhile, the output from this smelter produces 600,000 to 700,000 copper cathodes.

"It can also be refined here in December, the anode mud that will produce gold and silver and several other metals, the amount of gold is approximately 50 to 60 tons, the silver is 220 tons per year," he said.

Although it has officially started operating, Tony said that this smelter can only start producing copper cathodes in August 2024.

"This smelter can produce copper cathodes, it is estimated that it will start around August. So for your information, we will start operating this, it will take about 6 to 10 weeks to heat everything to reach a certain hot point," he explained.

Meanwhile, Investment Minister/Head of Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia revealed that the Freeport smelter in Gresik has absorbed 40,000 workers during its construction period.

"Job creation is almost 40,000. During the production period, there are only around 2,000 to 3,000," said Bahlil.