Freeport seeks renewal of export permit

Gold and copper mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia said it has applied for a renewal of its copper concentrates export permit which is set to expire on August 8, Investor Daily reported on Tuesday.

?We have applied for the extension of the export permit before the IdulFitri Celebration,? said RizaPratama, spokesman of PT Freeport.

The current six-month export permit was issued by the Ministry of Trade in February of this year with an export quota of 1 million tons of copper concentrates. To be able to get renewal of the export permit, PT Freeport must obtain recommendation letter from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR).

The MEMR has set a number of conditions for getting such recommendation letter, particularly progress of the company?s planned copper smelter in Gresik, East Java.

Riza, however, said that he has no information yet regarding the progress of the smelter project.

PT Freeport, a subsidiary of US-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, plans to develop a copper smelter in Gresik with a capacity of 2 million tons per year. The government initially expected the US$2.3 billion smelter to be completed in 2017 as export of copper concentrates will no longer be allowed as part of a policy aimed at developing domestic refining industry to generate greater value added for the country from mineral resources. (*)