Freeport-McMoran suspends world’s second-largest copper mine in Indonesia after heavy rains
Mining company Freeport-McMoran announced suspension of operations at Grasberg, the world’s second-largest copper mine in Indonesia, after heavy rainfalls caused landslides in the area.
“PT Freeport Indonesia's (PT-FI) Grasberg operations have been temporarily disrupted because of significant rainfall and landslides in the area of its milling operations in Papua, Indonesia,” the company said.
Infrastructure near the company’s milling complex was damaged, personnel were safely evacuated from the affected area, Freeport added.
According to preliminary estimates, the operations can be restored by end-February.
Why it matters
As a result of the disruption, Freeport-McMoran now expects its first-quarter 2023 sales to fall short of its most recent guidance of 900 million pounds of copper and 300,000 ounces of gold.
PT-FI daily produces nearly 5 million pounds of copper and 5,000 ounces of gold.
Last year, Freeport’s Indonesian operations produced 1.567 billion pounds of copper and 1.798 million ounces of gold.
On Wednesday, Freeport announced that it had achieved the Copper Mark, a framework to promote responsible production practices, at all 12 of its copper producing operations globally, with Grasberg being the last of them to receive the mark.
