Freeport agrees to renegotiate contracts

Freeport Indonesia has agreed to renegotiate the company?s contracts with the Indonesian government as required by the new mining law, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik has said.

The minister said in Jakarta that the agreement to contract renegotiation was unveiled by Freeport Indonesia?s newly appointed president director Rozik. B. Soetjipto during a meeting with him on Thursday.

The government has established a special team led by Coordinating Minister of Economy Hatta Rajasa to evaluate and revise contracts of mining companies to comply to the 2009 mining law.

?Renegotiation is needed to ensure that all mining contracts meet principles of justice and fairness and in line with the national interest,? the minister said.

In the renegotiation process, the government and miners would be discussing six main issues: the size of mining areas, contract extensions, the amount of royalties, obligations to process raw materials in the country, divestment and the utilization of local goods and services.

Editing by Roffie Kurniawan