Freeport to cut output by 30,000 tons a day<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono said on Wednesday that U.S.-based cooper and gold
\nmining company PT Freeport Indonesia has agreed to cut its daily
\noutput by about 30,000 tons of ore from 230,000 tons at present.<\/p>\n
\"This morning I received the news that Freeport has committed
\nto reduce its output. The amount is not confirmed yet, but it is
\nlikely to be around 30,000 tons of ore a day,\" he told
\njournalists before a cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
He said Freeport had promised that it would immediately reduce
\nits production.<\/p>\n
Freeport Indonesia confirmed Tuesday that the Indonesian
\ngovernment requested it consider reducing production at its
\nGrasberg open pit mine pending completion of technical studies in
\nresponse to a May 4 landslide.<\/p>\n
However, the press release did not report the size of the
\nplanned cut in daily production.<\/p>\n
Freeport was ordered to reduce output after a large pile of
\nwaste material collapsed into its dumping site, Lake Wanagon,
\ncausing a massive wave that swept away four workers. The men,
\nemployed by contractors PT Petrosea and PT Graha Buana Jaya, are
\nfeared dead.<\/p>\n
Freeport has blamed the collapse of the overburden pile on
\nheavy rainfall, which reached on average of 40 millimeters last
\nweek.<\/p>\n
The incident prompted the government to bar Freeport from
\ndumping its waste material into Lake Wanagon until it can improve
\nsafety measures at the site.<\/p>\n
Minister of Environment Sonny Keraf said on Wednesday he
\nwelcomed Freeport's commitment to cut output.<\/p>\n
\"By cutting the output, half of the problems the company face
\nnow can be solved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
PT Freeport Indonesia is owned by U.S. mining company Freeport
\nMcMoran Copper & Gold, 81.28 percent; the Indonesian government,
\n9.36 percent; and PT Indocopper Investama Corporation, which is
\npartly owned by Nusamba Mineral Industries, a company linked to
\nformer president Soeharto, 9.36 percent. (cst)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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