Indonesia will issue copper concentrate export permits for miner Freeport Indonesia and Amman Mineral Internasional, a trade ministry official said on Friday, ensuring that exports by both companies would not be disrupted.
Freeport’s and Amman’s current export permits expire on Friday.
“The permits will take effect from June 1,” Budi Santoso, the trade ministry’s director general of international trade, said, without disclosing further details.
Budi said both companies will be permitted to export until Dec. 31.
Indonesia banned shipments of all raw minerals from June 2023, but Freeport and Amman were given a year-long dispensation to export their copper concentrate to allow the miners more time to finish the construction of their smelters.
Both companies have since lobbied the government for another extension, arguing that their smelters would not reach full capacity by next month.
Amman has started the commissioning of its smelter and the production of the first batch of copper cathodes is expected in the second half of 2024, the company said in a statement on Friday.
On May 8, President Joko Widodo said the government would extend Freeport’s and Amman’s export permits, but did not provide details.
A Freeport Indonesia spokesman said the company “is still coordinating with the government” regarding the export permit extension. Amman did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the export permit. Amman earlier this week said it was still waiting for its new export permit.
(By Bernadette Christina and Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Sharon Singleton)
