Freeport Indonesia?s Q4 production down, annual production flat

US based miner Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) on Thursday reported that its Indonesian mining unit, PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI), recorded sales of 325.3 million pounds of copper and 500,200 ounces of gold during the fourth quarter of 2001, compared with 443.3 million pounds of copper and 724,000 ounces of gold during the fourth quarter of 2000.

FCX said copper and gold sales were lower in the 2001 fourth quarter because of the anticipated mining of lower ore grades. PT-FI expected to return to higher-grade ore in the second half of 2002.

In 2001, PT-FI's annual sales totaled a record 2,644,800 ounces of gold, over 700,000 ounces more than in 2000, and 1.4 billion pounds of copper, about the same as for 2000.

PT-FI estimated the first-quarter 2002 sales to approximate 300 million pounds of copper and 275,000 ounces of gold, reflecting the expected continuation of lower ore grades during the first half of 2002 before returning to higher ore grades in the second half of the year.

PT-FI expected its sales for 2002 to approximate 1.5 billion pounds of copper and 2.0 million ounces of gold.

FCX said that during 2001, additions to the aggregate proved and probable reserves at the Grasberg mining complex totaled approximately 156 million metric tons of ore representing aggregate increases of 3.2 billion recoverable pounds of copper and 4.3 million recoverable ounces of gold.

Year-end aggregate proved and probable recoverable reserves, net of 2001 production, were 2.6 billion metric tons of ore averaging 1.13 percent copper, 1.05 grams per metric ton gold and 3.72 grams per metric ton silver, representing 52.5 billion pounds of copper, 64.5 million ounces of gold and 151.6 million ounces of silver. (alex)