The Indonesia government has extended the special mining permit to PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) until July 31, which will allow it to operate the Grasberg mine, said Director General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Bambang Gatot Ariyono in a press conference on July 4.
Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing between the two parties over the operation’s long-term rights after new rules were issued by the government.
According to Ariyono, some of the issues to be resolved include environmental ones involving the Environment and Forest Ministry and the Freeport team and Inalum.
In December, the Indonesian government extended PT-FI’s temporary special license to June 30 to enable normal operations to continue during the negotiation period. In February, PT-FI’s export license was extended to February 15, 2019.
Located in the Papua province in Indonesia, Grasberg is one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines in terms of ore reserves and production. It is owned and operated by PT-FI, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Rio Tinto has a joint venture with Freeport-McMoRan for a 40% share of production above specific levels until 2021, and 40% of all production after 2021.
