Jakarta, Jubi/Antara – Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said said a smelter in Papua is projected to accommodate the underground mining of PT. Freeport Indonesia.
“A smelter in Gresik is to expand the existing one and it would be temporary, while a smelter in Papua is to anticipate underground mining production which will be built by Freeport soon,” he said in Jakarta on Wednesday (18/2/2015).
He in the future Indonesia needs a smelter with a capacity of 4 million tonnes of concentrates to redefine gold, silver and copper.
Earlier, Freeport Indonesia has agreed to build a smelter on 650 hectares of land located in Poumako industrial area in Papua. Under the plan, Chinese investors will build the smelter in Papua while Freeport will provide the concentrates.
Freeport will be involved in building these two smelters through its investment for the Gresik smelter and contribution of concentrates for the Papua smelter.
Meanwhile, besides the smelter, the Papua Provincial Government planned to build a fertilizer and petrochemical factories as well as gas filling plant and cement factories within the Poumako industrial area. Meanwhile seaport, highway and generator near to Freeport’s concentrate pipelines only need to be improved.
The Papua Provincial Government also committed to allocate two trillion of initial investment to expand two thousand hectares more within this industrial area. (*/rom)
