Freeport to start major environmental rehabilitation in 2016
Monday, March 13 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
The giant gold mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia will start a major environmental rehabilitation in 2016 after its open pit mining activity in the Grasberg area in the West Papua province ends.
Freeport environmental manager Wisnu Susetyo said at the weekend that the total cost of the massive environmental rehabilitation was estimated at US$150 million.
He said that this was particularly for rehabilitation some 230-km2 site, which is currently being used to dump the company's tailing waste product.
He said that the open pit mining activity was expected to end in 2015.
He said that it would be useless to start a major rehabilitation program now since Freeport would still continue to produce tailing waste product until 2015.
Freeport's production level is currently at 220,000 tons per day, with tailing waste product volume at 212,000 tons. The volume would increase if Freeport realized its planned increase in production level to 300,000 tons.
Freeport is currently under serious attack particularly due to allegations of environmental destruction and corrupt practices in the past. (*)