Ministry of Industry to Accelerate Freeport Smelter Project
Translator
Ricky Mohammad Nugraha
Editor
Markus Wisnu Murti
Senin, 28 Oktober 2019 17:58 WIB
Industry MInister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. TEMPO/Subekti
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita seeks to operate the smelter of PT Freeport Indonesia sooner although the initial target of 2022 is already deemed acceptable.
“We just held a meeting that was led by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan where we expressed intentions to accelerate the Freeport smelter projects. Even though the first line from Freeport in 2022 will see production,” said the minister on Monday.
According to Agus, the government is in the midst of looking for a way to operate the smelter, which has spent up to US$151 million.
The construction of the Freeport smelter is done over a 100-hectare land with a total cost of up to US$3 billion. The smelter is expected to be able to process 2 million tons of copper concentrate and to be fully operational in 2022.
