Freeport, Newmont obtain export recommendation from MEMR
Saturday, March 29 2014 - 04:05 AM WIB
PT Freeport Indonesia and PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, the two largest copper concentrate producers in the country, have obtained export recommendation from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR), which under a new mineral ore export mechanism launched in January is necessary to get the export permit from the Ministry of Trade.
Dede I . Suhendra, Director for Mineral Management and Development at the MEMR, said that both Freeport and Newmont have fulfilled the necessary requirements to get the export recommendation including ?commitment? to build domestic smelters.
He said that with the export recommendation, the two companies, which control more than 90 percent of the country?s copper concentrate production, will seek for registered export status from the Ministry of Trade and export permit from the same ministry.
Dede, however, said that it?s unclear when the two companies would resume export and at what volume.
Export has been suspended since the government introduced in January an export ban on mineral ores in a bid to generate greater value at home by forcing miners to build domestic smelters. However, the export of certain mineral ore concentrates including copper are still allowed until 2017, but is subject to punitive progressive export tax, which has been strongly protested by Freeport and Newmont.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal Harya Adityawarman said Friday that Freeport Indonesia has obtained the registered export status from the Ministry of Trade following recommendation from the MEMR. He, however, did not say whether Newmont also received a similar status.
Freeport is now waiting for the export permit from the Ministry of Trade, he added.
Freeport Indonesia produces about 2-2.5 million tons of copper concentrate per year, while Newmont between 600,000-800,000 tons per year. About a third of the output is allocated for the country?s only smelter (PT Smelting Gresik) in East Java, while the rests are exported.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak