Freeport Invests Rp25 Trillion in Kucing Liar Mine

PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) has announced the development of the Kucing Liar underground mine located in the Grasberg Mineral District, Central Papua. A substantial investment of Rp25 trillion has been allocated to this project.

The project is currently in the development stage, and production is estimated to begin in 2029.

“I also wish to inform here that the Kucing Liar mine, which is our mine of the future, will be worked on starting now; it has entered the development stage and will be ready for mining in 2029,” stated the President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia, Tony Wenas, during a recent working meeting with Commission XII of the House of Representatives (DPR).

He noted that the Rp25 trillion investment is part of a total requirement of Rp72 trillion through to 2033.

It was previously reported that Freeport began long-term mine development at the Kucing Liar deposit in the Grasberg mineral district in 202 تعد 23. Subsequently, in 2025, the company completed a study evaluating the potential for expanding the deposit footprint, designed for a capacity of 90,000 metric tonnes of ore per day.

That study revealed opportunities for low-cost expansion to increase capacity to 130,000 metric tonnes per day, which would also include increasing reserves by approximately 20%.

“As of 31 December 2025, PTFI’s initial estimate for the Kucing Liar reserves is approximately 8 billion pounds of copper and 8 million ounces of gold to be recovered until 2041, an increase from the previous estimate of 7 billion pounds of copper and 6 million ounces of gold,” the management wrote in a statement on Monday.

Furthermore, the latest design notes that the full-scale average production for Kucing Liar could reach 750 million pounds of copper and 735,000 ounces of gold. This figure represents a surge of more than 35% from previous estimates.

The company’s economic assessment also revealed that the project development requires an additional capital investment of approximately 10%, or US$0.5 billion. This includes the impact on the operations of the Grasberg Block Cave and necessary adjustments to processing facilities.