Freeport's shareholders meeting unlikely to happen: Official

Gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia is unlikely to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting this month as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro has yet to give his consent, Investor Daily reported in its Saturday edition.

The main agenda of the meeting scheduled for April 20 is the merger of PT Indocopper Investama Tbk and Freeport. Actually, the minister has not yet approved the merger plan.

?The shareholders meeting will not be held until the plan is approved by the minister of energy and mineral resources. If the meeting is held (without the approval from the minister) that means violation of the contract,? the paper quoted State Minister of State Enterprises's deputy Roes Aryaiwijaya as saying on Thursday in Jakarta.

The plan to merge the two companies was forwarded to the government after U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Plc., the majority owner of Freeport, bought the shares owned by PT Indocopper in Papua-based mining firm in August 2002.

Under the Contract of Works between the government and Freeport, such a merger should be approved by the government. (*)