Freeport?s smelter project faces land problem in Gresik

Copper and gold mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia?s (FI) smelter project in Gresik, East Java province is still facing land problems. As such, the groundbreaking of the project which is initially scheduled for July, may be now held later than the initial schedule.

Freeeport spokesman Riza Pratama said the groundbreaking could only be carried if the lands for the project have been secured. ?We are still in waiting. The lands are now under preparations,? he was quoted by beritasatu.com as saying on Monday.

Freeport signed in the middle of last year an agreement with state owned petrochemical firm Petrokima Gresik to lease 80 hectares of lands belonging to the latter for the project over a period of 20 years. The latter should have handed over the lands to Freeport last March after completing reclamation program there. However, until now, the lands have yet to be handed over to Freeport and the firm has yet to be informed about the progress of the reclamation program.

Freeport plans to build a smelter in Gresik with a total investment of $2.23 billion. The smelter is designed with a capacity of 2 million tons of copper concentrate per year.

Separately, Director General of Minerals and Coal Bambang Gatot said he did not see any significant progress have been made in the smelter project.

?In our view, the progress of the smelter project is not significant,? he was quoted by beritasatu.com as saying, while adding that his office is still uninformed regarding the groundbreaking plan of the project.

The firm is required by the government to build a domestic smelter, a condition for the company to obtain extension of permit to export copper concentrates. (*)