Freeport to Gradually Resume Production, Targeting Recovery by 2027
PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) has assured that mining production activities will continue gradually following the landslide incident at Grasberg in 2025. The company targets a return to normal production capacity in 2027, in line with the recovery of the mining area and the ramp-up of operations.
PTFI’s President Director, Tony Wenas, stated that the company is currently in the recovery phase at Grasberg Block Caving (GBC), particularly in production block 1, which was most significantly affected. Meanwhile, limited mining activities have begun in production blocks 2 and 3.
“From May 2026 until the first quarter of 2027, we will carry out the ramp-up. For production block 1, which has high grades, it will only resume operations in 2027,” Tony said during a Hearing with Commission XII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Monday (13/4/2026).
As part of the recovery, PTFI is also implementing several technical mitigation measures to prevent similar incidents, including the construction of a special tunnel approximately 3 kilometres long to channel wet materials and drilling techniques to reduce mud pressure inside the mine.
On the production side, PTFI targets an increase in ore mining from 139,000 tonnes per day in 2025 to 156,000 tonnes per day in 2026. This production is projected to continue rising to around 200,000 tonnes per day in 2027, which is the company’s normal operational level.
In 2026, PTFI targets metal production to reach 1.1 billion pounds of copper and around 800,000 ounces of gold, or equivalent to 26 tonnes. All of this gold production is planned to be absorbed by PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam).
Alongside the production increase, contributions to the state are also projected to remain significant. In 2026, state revenues are estimated to reach US$2.9 billion, or approximately Rp54 trillion, derived from taxes, non-tax state revenues (PNBP), and dividends. This figure is estimated to rise to US$4.3 billion in 2027 and could even exceed US$6 billion per year starting from 2028.
Tony emphasised that although production fell in 2025 due to the landslide incident, where copper production dropped by nearly 30 percent and gold by more than 50 percent, financial performance remained stable thanks to rising commodity prices.
“Going forward, our focus is to ensure operations run safely, stably, and gradually return to full capacity,” he said.
With the recovery strategy being implemented, Freeport is optimistic about maintaining production continuity while strengthening long-term contributions to state revenues.