Copper miner Freeport Indonesia has raised its output guidance for the year as it awaits an extension of its copper concentrate export permit that the government has promised, the company’s deputy chief executive told parliament on Monday.
Its copper concentrate output target this year was lifted to 3.78 million metric tons, assuming the export permit extension is approved, from an initial 2.84 million tons, the deputy CEO Jenpino Ngabdi said.
The company, majority owned by the Indonesian government but operated by US miner Freeport-McMoran, also raised its 2024 refined copper output target to 1.73 million pounds, from 1.42 million pounds previously, he added.
Freeport Indonesia’s last export permit was valid until May 31 and its new targets must be approved by the mining ministry.
Indonesia banned shipments of all raw minerals from June 2023, but Freeport Indonesia and rival copper miner Amman Mineral Internasional were given a year-long dispensation to allow them to finish the construction of their copper smelters.
The government has promised to extend the dispensation until the end of 2024 so that the companies can continue to export before their smelters reach full capacity, but with additional levies on shipments.
The regulation for the new levies was not publicly available as of Monday morning.
“We are targeting operational start of the JIIPE smelter in early June with the commissioning of the furnace smelter,” Jenpino said, referring to the Java Integrated Industrial and Ports Estate smelter in East Java. “The first copper cathode production is expected in August with a feed rate for concentrate of 50%,” he added.
Freeport Indonesia produced 3.45 million metric tons of copper concentrate in 2023 while its refined copper output last year reached 1.68 million pounds.
(By Bernadette Christina and Ananda Teresia; Editing by John Mair and Jamie Freed)
