Freeport Builds Smelter In Gresik, Erick Thohir's Optimism Makes People Smile: Can Produce 35 Tons Of Gold Per Year

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Freeport Indonesia)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir said that the PT Freeport Indonesia smelter being built in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Gresik, East Java will produce an average of 35 tons of gold per year. The transaction value will skyrocket to tens of trillions.

Furthermore, Erick Thohir said that PT Freeport's smelter investment was worth Rp42 trillion. In the smelter, copper refining will be carried out to produce a copper cathode. This includes gold, silver and other precious metals.

"So that later we can produce an average of 35 tons of gold per year with a transaction value of Rp. 30 trillion," he said at the groundbreaking of the smelter in the Gresik Special Economic Zone (KEK), Gresik Regency, East Java, Tuesday, October 12.

Not only providing income benefits, said Erick, the smelter built in the Gresik SEZ is also able to absorb 40,000 workers by prioritizing native East Java workers.

"Earlier, the governor (East Java) entrusted the majority of the workers from East Java, so that the certainty of the opening of the workforce will also occur," he said.

Erick revealed that PT Freeport Indonesia's revenue increased by more than 100 percent after its share ownership was controlled by Indonesia as much as 51 percent. Erick said that Freeport's performance had continued to improve in the past year.

Furthermore, Erick said that in 2020 Freeport will get revenue of IDR 50 trillion. Meanwhile, this year's revenue is projected to reach Rp105 trillion.

"Then, last year's net profit of IDR 10 trillion is planned to reach IDR 40 trillion this December. Now this of course happens because of the increase in capacity rather than Freeport's own production and also the increase in cooper prices and continued efficiency," he said.

With the construction of a smelter, said Erick, profits will increase and provide added value. So that the mines that have been excavated are not sent abroad in raw form.