Freeport Estimates Gold Production to Reach 21 Tonnes in 2026

PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) estimates it will produce 800 million pounds of copper and 700,000 ounces of gold, equivalent to 21 tonnes, in 2026. President Director Tony Wenas stated that in 2025 the company mined 139,000 tonnes of ore per day, but this year’s plan targets only 124,000 tonnes per day. The decline in production is due to a landslide incident at the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine in September 2025. ‘As is known, this year PTFI is only at 60% capacity from the upstream side because of the landslide that occurred in September,’ Tony Wenas explained during a hearing with Commission XII of the House of Representatives on Tuesday (14/7/2026). The company targets metal production of 800 million pounds of copper and 700,000 ounces of gold this year. Production is expected to increase gradually as operations return to normal, reaching 100% capacity by the end of 2027. Ore production is targeted at 170,000 tonnes in 2027, rising to 208,000 tonnes in 2028, and reaching 226,000 tonnes per day in 2029. ‘In 2027 we can reach 1.2 billion pounds of copper and one million ounces of gold, or around 31 tonnes. In 2028 there will be an increase to 1.6 billion pounds of copper and 1.4 million ounces of gold, or 43 tonnes, and so on until 2030,’ Tony detailed. Additionally, management projects the recovery of the new smelter facility in Gresik, East Java, by September 2026. ‘The plan is for the new smelter to resume production, or process and refine concentrate from Papua, in September this year, with a ramp-up until the end of the year,’ he concluded.