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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Economy & Trade

Grasberg Mine Production Targeted for Full Recovery by End of 2027

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • PT Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg mine production is expected to recover fully by the end of 2027.
  • Production was impacted by a landslide in September 2025, reducing output to an estimated 65% of full capacity this year.
  • The company plans to increase production capacity to 75% by the first half of 2027 and reach 100% by year-end, with smelter facilities also ramping up.

Production at PT Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg mine is not expected to return to normal levels until the end of 2027, following a significant landslide in September 2025. This year, the company anticipates upstream production will only reach approximately 65 percent of its full capacity.

Tony Wenas, the President Director of PTFI, explained that the company is focused on repairs and ensuring the safety of the mining area before gradually increasing production. "Due to the landslide in September 2025, the production ramp-up process is proceeding more slowly than we previously anticipated. Production capacity this year is still around 65 percent," Wenas stated during a hearing with Commission XII of the Indonesian House of Representatives on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.

Due to the landslide in September 2025, the production ramp-up process is proceeding more slowly than we previously anticipated. Production capacity this year is still around 65 percent.

— Tony WenasPresident Director of PT Freeport Indonesia explaining the impact of a landslide on production levels.

PTFI aims to boost production capacity to around 75 percent in the first half of 2027, with full recovery targeted for the end of that year. Alongside the recovery of concentrate supply, Freeport's smelter facility in Gresik will also increase its output. The new smelter is projected to produce approximately 600,000 tons of copper cathode annually. Combined with the existing PT Smelting Gresik, Freeport's total copper cathode production capacity will reach about 800,000 tons per year.

Furthermore, the Precious Metal Refinery (PMR) facility in the same complex is expected to produce up to 50 tons of gold per year by refining anode sludge containing gold, silver, and other precious metals. In terms of mining volume, Freeport estimates that 124,000 tons of ore will be mined daily in 2026, a decrease from the 139,000 tons per day realized in 2025, largely due to the halt in production at the Deep Mill Level Zone (DMLZ) following the landslide.

That is the normal level or 100 percent level of our production.

— Tony WenasPresident Director of PT Freeport Indonesia projecting future production volumes.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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