Fito Akhmad Erlangga, Gresik – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo confirmed that Indonesia has not yet left the negotiation table regarding an increase in its stake in gold miner Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), a subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan, by an additional 10 percent, aiming to raise its ownership to 61 percent.
Jokowi stated that Indonesia currently holds 51 percent of PTFI shares and noted that previous negotiations to gain control of this majority stake were lengthy and complex.
"(The additional 10 percent stake) is still under negotiation. When we took the 51 percent, it wasn't a matter of one month, two months, or three months; it took years and was quite arduous," Jokowi said after inaugurating Freeport Indonesia's Smelter Manyar in Gresik, East Java, on Monday.
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During the inauguration, Jokowi unveiled the smelter, valued at Rp 56 trillion ($3.68 billion). The facility has an input capacity of 1.7 million tons of copper concentrate and is expected to produce approximately 650,000 tons of copper cathodes annually, along with 50 tons of gold and 210 tons of silver. It began operations on June 27 and is projected to reach full capacity by December 2024.
Freeport first obtained the rights to explore and mine in Grasberg, Papua, through a contract signed with the Indonesian government in 1967, granting the company exclusive rights to mine copper and gold. In 1991, the initial contract was extended, allowing Freeport to continue operations until 2021. However, this extension also led to tensions regarding the profits received by Indonesia.
In 2009, the Indonesian government proposed a contract revision to secure a larger share of revenues from Freeport. This proposal resulted in years of negotiations, with the government demanding increased royalties and share divestment.
Finally, in 2018, after lengthy negotiations, Freeport agreed to divest 51 percent of its shares in Freeport Indonesia to the Indonesian government. Additionally, Freeport committed to building mineral processing facilities in the country as part of Jokowi's downstream policy.
Indonesia officially became the majority shareholder of PTFI in 2018, acquiring a 51.23 percent stake through MIND ID, previously known as Inalum. The acquisition, valued at $3.85 billion (Rp 55.8 trillion at the time), raised Indonesia's ownership in PTFI from 9.36 percent to 51.23 percent. MIND ID is set to go public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) within the next two years.