Govt won't limit Freeport production despite landslide: Purnomo

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Tuesday that the government until now has no plans to limit the production of gold and copper mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia despite last month's deadly landslide incident at the company's mining site in Papua province.

Speaking to reporters during a visit in Semarang, Purnomo acknowledged the Oct. 9 landslide incident was caused by "negligence."

He said that the government was currently still investigating the case to decide on whether there was a negligence toward the mining system. If so, he added, the government would require Freeport to revise the overall mining design.

Earlier press reports quoting a ministry senior official said that the landslide, which killed eight people when the wall of an open pit at the company's massive Grasberg mine in Timika collapsed, was likely the result of management negligence.

Government investigators have learned that management of the company, which is a local unit of Louisiana-based Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., knew the wall could collapse, but didn't take sufficient action, said Suryatono, an official at the ministry who is leading the probe.

Freeport had expected to sell 1.4 billion pounds of copper and 2.6 million ounces of gold this year before the landslide. But according to the company's website, the landslide incident would likely to cut sales volume of copper and gold to fall 10 percent. (Alex/Godang)