Freeport Indonesia pushes back Grasberg Copper restart by a year
PT Freeport Indonesia pushed back the full restart of its giant Grasberg copper mine by a year, worsening supply constraints that are already impacting the global market for the metal.
The complex in Central Papua province is now targeting a return to full production by early 2028, Freeport Indonesia President Director Tony Wenas said in a statement dated Thursday.
Grasberg was the world’s second biggest producer of copper until operations were hampered by a mudflow at the mine last year. Only last month, Wenas said the mine would reach full production by early 2027, following the restart of areas unaffected by the incident.
The news is another blow to global copper supply, which has already endured a series of disruptions at key mines.
Prices for copper surged to a record in January on a wave of speculative buying, before consolidating at historically high levels. Traders are now honing in on the possibility of further supply constraints due to a shortage of sulfuric acid, a key agent needed to process the metal.
Grasberg, a joint venture between US miner Freeport-McMoRan and the Indonesia government, is currently only producing at around 40% to 50% of capacity, the statement said. In its earnings report last month, Freeport flagged that a slower ramp up of the mine would weigh on sales.
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