Govt to help Freeport resume operations
Monday, October 31 2011 - 05:10 AM WIB
Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Widjajono Partowidagdo said on Friday that the ministry would coordinate with relevant institutions to provide security assurances to Freeport.
?I will go to Papua [this week]. I just met with representatives of Freeport employees and locals living near the mine. They complained about the security condition there,? he said.
Widjajono said the government would focus on security first, worker welfare second and then on renegotiating the government?s contract with Freeport.
?In negotiations, it is important to prioritize transparency and trust so that we can produce win-win solutions. Don?t demand exaggerated things or we?ll never have an agreement,? Widjajono said.
Under normal conditions, PT FI produces about to 230,000 tons of ore a day, which is delivered to a processing plant in Timika where it is transformed into about 6,000 to 7,000 of concentrate.
According to the third quarter report of Freeport McMoRan, PT FI?s parent company, local production and sales of copper and gold were adversely affected by labour strikes on the mine.
The company said PT FI missed its copper production target by 70 million pounds and its gold target by 100,000 ounces of gold due to the eight-day strike in July and the ongoing strike that started on Sept. 15. (*)