Freeport 's open pit runs at full capacity after shutdown

Open-pit mining at Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold?s Indonesian unit, the world?s second-largest copper mine, is now running at full capacity after a prolonged closure due to an accident at the site, The Jakarta Post reported on Friday,

Freeport halted production at the huge Grasberg mine in remote West Papua on May 15, a day after a tunnel in a training area caved in, killing 28 people.

Late last month, the Arizona-based company said open-pit production had been ramped up to 60 percent capacity, just days after receiving approval from the Indonesian government to resume some mining activities.

?Yes it is,? Freeport Indonesia president director Rozik Soetjipto said by telephone, when asked whether open-pit mining was running at full capacity. However, underground mining was yet to resume, Soetjipto added, without elaborating.

The open-pit mine normally produces between 140,000 tons and 150,000 tons of copper ore per day, while output from the underground operations is 80,000 tons. Freeport was forced to declare force majeure on shipments after the accident. (*)