Freeport, Amman mark milestones on copper smelters

Gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia has begun operating its new copper smelter in Gresik, East Java. The US£3.7 billion facility has an annual input capacity of 1.7 million tonnes of copper concentrate, which could produce around 900,000 tonnes of copper cathode, 50 tonnes of gold and 210 tonnes of silver a year. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo oversaw the launch of copper cathode production on Monday.

In his speech, Jokowi conveyed hope that the smelter would encourage the domestic production of copper derivatives such as copper foil and the use of selenium, a byproduct of copper refining. "So, later on, [Indonesia] could produce semiconductors," he said during a live broadcast of the inauguration ceremony, which was held at Freeport Indonesia's copper smelter in Gresik. Jokowi went on to express appreciation for the company, which has contributed around Rp 80 trillion to state revenue.

"Our GDP [gross domestic product] growth is based on domestic consumption.

We want to shift our GDP growth to be based on production, productivity, from both state-owned and private companies," he said.

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References

^ View More Newsletter (www.thejakartapost.com)
^ Freeport 'doesn't belong to the US', says Jokowi. 'It's ours now' (www.thejakartapost.com)