Freeport to increase copper ore output<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): PT Freeport Indonesia Company (FI), an
\nIndonesian-American copper firm, is likely to increase its daily
\ncopper ore production to 115,000 tons next year from 70,000 tons
\nat present, a company report says.<\/p>\n
The report said that the company anticipates producing some
\n499,000 tons of copper and 46.6 tons of gold per year.<\/p>\n
FI, under the extension of its mining contract from the
\ngovernment, has expanded its concession area from merely 10,000
\nhectares to 2.6 million hectares in Irian Jaya. Its old
\nconcession area is called Bloc A and the expansion area Bloc B.<\/p>\n
Bloc A is capable of producing 70,000 tons of ore daily,
\nequivalent to 750,000 pounds of copper and 650,000 ounces of
\ngold.<\/p>\n
The report quoted James Robert Moffett, FI's chief
\ncommissioner and chairman of Freeport McMoRan Cooper & Gold Inc.
\n(FCX) of the United States, as saying last week that FI recently
\nidentified new copper reserves in the Big Gossan area of Block A
\nwith probable deposits of 32 million tons with an average content
\nof 2.9 percent of copper and 0.91 grams of gold per ton, or one
\nmillion kilograms of copper and 28,000 kilograms of gold.<\/p>\n
"The total Big Gossan geologic resource and proven reserve is
\nnow estimated to be larger than the original Ertsberg deposit
\ndiscovered in 1967," Moffett said.<\/p>\n
"Current estimates are that the Big Gossan deposit could be
\nbrought into production for less than US$130 million with
\ndevelopment that could begin as early as late this year or early
\n1995," he added.<\/p>\n
New deposit<\/p>\n
He said that the company -- which is 80 percent owned by FCX,
\n10 percent by the Indonesian government and 10 percent by PT
\nIndocopper Investama of the Bakrie Group -- also found another
\nnew deposit at the Lembah Tembaga area at an average of 1.3
\npercent of copper, 0.13 grams per ton of gold and nine grams per
\nton of silver, during its initial exploratory drilling.<\/p>\n
At the 910-meter downhole, the company has found the stockwork
\ncopper mineralization at an average of 1.21 percent copper, 0.27
\ngrams per ton of gold and 2.8 grams per ton of silver, he said.<\/p>\n
The company, which has drilled four rigs at the Lembah Tembaga
\nprospect area, now requires feasibility studies to determine the
\ncommercial level of the area, he said.<\/p>\n
A FCS subsidiary, PT Irja Eastern Minerals Corp., which now
\nholds a one-million hectare concession area in Irian Jaya, also
\ndrilled three rigs at the Etna Bay prospect area.<\/p>\n
Moffett said that the Irja Eastern also identified new
\ndeposits at the Wanagon and Wabu gold prospect area which was
\nestimated to have geologic resources of between 20,000 and 40,000
\nkilograms of gold.<\/p>\n
"Again, further drilling will be required to determine the
\nextent and commercial potential of these resources," he said.
\n(fhp)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/freeport-to-increase-copper-ore-output-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}