Govt yet to issue permission for Indocopper acquisition by Freeport

The government has never issued a permission for U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc to take over the stake of PT Indocopper Investama in PT Freeport Indonesia, Bisnis Indonesia reported in its Thursday edition

?Until today, the technical department (the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources) has not yet issued a permission for the acquisition,? the ministry's director general of mineral resources and geology Simon Felix Sembiring said in a Wednesday hearing with the House of Representatives? Commission VIII which oversees among others energy and mining affairs.

The ministry is studying the legal aspects of the acquistion, he said.

Freeport McMoRan bought Indocopper's 9.36 percent interest in Freeport Indonesia last year through the stock exchange, bringing the total stake of the American firm in Freeport Indonesia to 90.64 percent. The remaining 9.36 percent is owned by the Indonesian government.

it remains unclear if the government has the authority to annul the acquisition but the director general made the statement amid reports that Freeport McMoRan is seeking to gain the govenrment's approval for the merger of Indocopper with Freeport Indonesia. (*)