Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is investing $17 billion to advance its massive Indonesian copper-gold project, reported officials; this includes a $2 billion smelter in East Java, with $15 billion to develop their deep-pit Grasberg mine in remote West Papua.
The government in southeast Asia’s biggest economy banned raw mineral exports and imposed duties for processed metals, including copper, during Q1 2014 to encourage domestic processing plant construction. Land acquisition talks over the new smelter, to process 2 million copper tons annually, are pending; Freeport’s Indonesia subsidiary has a 25% stake in the country’s only copper smelter, also in East Java.
