Mitsubishi halts Gresik plant

Mitsubishi halts Gresik plant

TOKYO (Reuters): Japan's second largest copper smelter Mitsubishi Materials Corp said yesterday it might temporarily halt construction of the Gresik smelter in Indonesia due to upheaval in the country.

"We may stop construction (of the Gresik smelter) temporarily. However, the situation (in Indonesia) does not yet allow us to make a final decision," said a spokesman at Mitsubishi Materials.

Mitsubishi Materials owns a 75 percent stake in the US$600 million project to build Indonesia's first copper smelter, while Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc of the United States holds the remaining 25 percent.

While the company is so far continuing construction work for the 200,000 ton-per-year smelter in East Java, it is evacuating the families of its Japanese staff there, he said.

The Gresik smelter is scheduled for completion in August, and full operations to begin three months later.