Erick Thohir Says Freeport Smelter in Gresik Proves Govt's Seriousness in Downstream Sector
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14 December 2023 20:32 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Minister of State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Erick Thohir reported that the mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PTFI) smelter in Gresik, East Java is a clear indication of the government's seriousness in carrying out downstream.
Erick made the statement when accompanying President Joko Widodo or Jokowi to inaugurate the expanded copper smelter today, Dec. 14. “Although some people do not understand the urgency of the downstream policy, President Jokowi takes the right steps and in fact, it must be done,” Erick said in his statement on Thursday.
The minister noted that downstream is one of the government’s commitments to ensure that the country's mineral resources are utilized sustainably. With the natural resources gradually depleting, Indonesia cannot continue selling raw materials without any value addition so downstream processing is a vital step towards creating more jobs and technology transfer.
“If people are protesting against downstream and want us to continue selling raw materials, I think their nationalism needs to be questioned,” he added.
According to Erick, the smelter has a total refining capacity of 1.3 million tons, making it the largest single smelter design in the world. Furthermore, the construction of this new copper smelter with a capacity of 1.7 million tons per year and a precious metals refinery (PMR) with a capacity of 6,000 tons per year was expected to be completed by May 2024. As of November 2023, construction progress has reached 82.74 percent.
Citing from its official website, PT Smelting Gresik is PT Freeport Indonesia's first copper smelter built in 1996. PTFI then started the construction of the Manyar smelter in 2021.
The construction of this smelter is part of the requirements for PTFI to extend its special mining business permit or IUPK, which will enable the company to extend its operating rights in the Grasberg mineral mining area in Papua until 2041.
AMELIA RAHIMA SARI
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