Freeport Boss Reveals Future Mining Project
PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) is preparing an underground mining project called Kucing Liar in the Grasberg minerals district, Central Papua. The new mine, targeted to begin operations in 2029, will become the backbone of the company’s future operations.
The project, with reserves of up to 7 billion pounds of copper and 7 million ounces of gold, is designed to guarantee the sustainability of national mineral production once reserves in the currently operating mining block begin to enter a decline phase.
President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia Tony Wenas explained that the company’s current reserves are actually still sufficient to support mining activities until 2050.
Not stopping there, Freeport is also ready to conduct deeper exploration to find new reserves at lower levels if the government provides certainty on the extension of the Special Mining Business Permit (IUPK) after 2041.
“Kucing Liar is currently being developed and we plan to begin mining it in 2029. It was originally 2028 but we postponed it by a year, and the total investment there will be around Rp 72 trillion. So far Rp 25 trillion has been invested, and the Kucing Liar reserves are also very good,” said Tony in Tembagapura, Central Papua, in CNBC Indonesia’s Mining Zone programme, quoted on Monday (24/8/2026).
The Kucing Liar block is projected to have an ore mining capacity of 130,000 to 140,000 tonnes per day. During its operational life, the new mine is estimated to be able to produce around 7 billion pounds of copper and 7 million ounces of gold to support global industrial demand.
“So this is our future mine. Right now there is the Grasberg Block Cave mine. But later Grasberg will be depleting — this Grasberg block caving will eventually run out and be replaced by Kucing Liar. And furthermore, this is planned to last until 2050 or even beyond,” he added.
Of the total investment value for the Kucing Liar block, which reaches Rp 72 trillion, the company has disbursed around Rp 25 trillion for the preparation of supporting facilities. The new mine is designed to have a massive ore mining capacity.
“So far Rp 25 trillion has been invested, and the Kucing Liar reserves are also very good — possibly around 130,000 to 140,000 tonnes of ore per day,” he continued.
To ensure the production transition period is not disrupted, the company requires certainty on the IUPK extension, which currently runs until 2041. This is because technical exploration activities and new mine development require a very long preparation time and expensive costs.
“If the IUPK were issued now, we would immediately explore, and roughly before 2041 it would run concurrently so that there would not need to be a significant production decline. There is a resource of 3 billion tonnes beneath it which, if we work on it, could possibly add another 20 years or more beyond 2061,” he concluded.