Freeport denies to have reached agreement on Indonesian operations divestment

US based miner Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. denied on Monday that it had reached agreement to divest some percentage of its shares in PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) to Irian Jaya government.

Earlier, several news media quoted Irian Jaya governor Jaap Salossa as saying that Freeport had principally agreed to divest some of its stake to Irian Jaya government.

?Representatives of the government of Indonesia and the province of Irian Jaya have raised, on a number of occasions extending over several years, the possibility of the acquiring an interest in PTFI,? said the company in a statement.

?Freeport has agreed to participate in discussions with the government of Indonesia and the province of Irian Jaya regarding the possibility of an acquisition of an interest in PTFI by the province of Irian Jaya. However, to-date, no such discussions involving specific terms have occurred and no agreement has been reached,? the statement further said.

PTFI is currently owned, directly and indirectly, 85.9 percent by Freeport, 9.4 percent by the government of Indonesia, and 4.7 percent by PT Nusamba.

Freeport is engaged through its affiliates in mineral exploration and development, mining and milling of copper, gold and silver in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, and the smelting and refining of copper concentrates in Spain and Indonesia.(alex)