The Future Of Indonesia's Copper And Gold Mining Business Is Still Bright

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The copper and gold mining industry in Indonesia is still bright in the future. With prospects that are still bright, these two industries will have a major impact on economic activities in the area around mining and national economic growth.

The prospect of a bright copper and gold mining industry can be seen from the production of PT Amman Mineral Internasional Tbk (AMMAN) and PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) which grow well every year. These two companies are the largest copper and gold mining companies in Indonesia.

Just so you know, Amman has produced copper of 335 million pounds and gold of 707,930 ounces until the third quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, Freeport Indonesia has produced copper of 1.37 billion pounds and gold of 1.43 million ounces until the third quarter of 2024.

In fact, Amman will begin to develop or exploit one of the largest findings of copper and porfiri gold mines in the world. The mine site is dubbed the "Elang" which has been the exploration company from 2020 to 2024. In addition, the location of the Eagle mine is located 60 kilometers (km) from the exploration site of the "Green Stone" which is currently being worked on by the company in West Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Mining and Energy Observer, Ferdy Hasiman stated, the copper and gold industry is still very interesting in the future. This was supported by two companies that have large reserves in the copper and gold industries, namely Freeport and Amman.

He said Freeport still has reserves of 2 billion tons of ore in the form of copper, silver, and gold until 2041. Meanwhile, Amman will start production of the Eagle mine, after mining at the Pajau Hijau area is completed which will expire in 2030. The location of this Elang mine has the potential to be one of the largest in the world.

"So these two big producers are very competent in their fields, because of the very qualified capital, technology, and human resources (HR). So I have no doubts about the capabilities of these 2 large producers, so that the future of the copper and gold industry is very bright, especially since both of them have built a copper concentrate processing plant that has an extraordinary multiplier effect for the national economy," said Ferdy in his official statement, quoted Friday, December 3.

Moreover, he continued, copper followed products have brought the fertilizer, cable, and other industries to life. In fact, copper is an important variable in building an electric car ecosystem.

"Therefore, I believe that the future of these two industries is still bright, because the mineral from copper is the key to electric car batteries which contribute up to 10.8 percent," he explained.

Ferdy added, not only on a national scale, but the copper and gold industry in the world is also still bright in the future. However, geopolitical conditions are still anticipated, because they will affect the supply and demand of the copper and gold industry.

Based on the latest data, Amman's team of geologists managed to identify a new copper and gold mineralization zone that is very potential. From the results of the initial analysis, that showing copper and gold reserves at the Elang mine site has the potential to be one of the largest in the world.

The location of the Eagle mine will replace the production position of the Green Stone mine which will expire in 2030. After phase 8 ore mining is completed, Amman plans to start production from the Eagle mine by utilizing processing infrastructure in Batu Hijau throughout the mining operation.

Based on the ongoing feasibility study at the Elang mine site, the potential increase in Amman's copper and gold reserves is estimated at 43 percent and 48 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Freeport Indonesia still holds abundant copper and gold reserves from underground mines (Wild Cat mines), namely copper reaching 29 billion pounds and 24 million ounces of gold by 2041. Until the third quarter of 2024, Freeport Indonesia's copper production had reached 1.37 billion pounds and gold reached 1.43 million ounces.