JAKARTA, Feb 14 (Reuters) -
Copper miner Freeport Indonesia hopes production can be partially restarted before end-February, its chief executive said on Tuesday, after floods disrupted activity at its flagship Grasberg mine in the eastern region of Papua.Freeport-McMoRan Inc cut its first-quarter copper sales forecast after mining and processing activities at the site were temporarily halted due to damage caused to some facilities by heavy rain and mudflows. "We will try to be faster. There are two semi-auto grinders ... Hopefully one can start earlier. We are trying to do that," Freeport Indonesia Chief Executive Tony Wenas told reporters. "But for the whole operation to recover, maybe (needs) until the end of February," he added.
A conveyor belt at the underground mine was also washed away in the floods so the company could not transport mined ores, he added. The mine typically produces nearly 5 million pounds of copper concentrate and 5,000 ounces of gold daily, the company has said. But the disruption will not affect the company's long-term plan, Freeport Indonesia said. Freeport now expects its first-quarter sales to be lower than the previous outlook provided in January for 900 million pounds of copper and 300,000 ounces of gold, but it did not provide updated figures.
(Reporting by Bernadette Christina, Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
