PT Smelting?s Q3 production up

New Orleans-based copper and gold miner Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) reported Tuesday that its subsidiary PT Smelting treated 223,000 metric tons of concentrates in the third quarter of 2005, compared with 228,100 metric tons in the year ago period.

The smelting company produced 144.7 million pounds of cathodes in the third quarter of 2005, up from 136.3 million pounds during the third quarter of 2004, FCX said.

FCX said the smelter?s cathode cash unit costs per pound totaled US$0.13 per pound in the third quarter of 2005 and $0.09 per pound in the year-ago period, primarily reflecting higher energy costs in 2005.

PT Smelting, located in Gresik of East Java, is the only copper smelter in Indonesia. FCX?s Indonesian unit PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) is the supplier of copper concentrate to the smelter as well as a 25 percent owner.

Other owners are Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (60.5 percent), Mitsubishi Corporation (9.5 percent), and Nippon Mining & Metals Co (5 percent). (robert)