Mitsubishi's RI plant

Mitsubishi's RI plant

TOKYO (Reuters): Mitsubishi Materials Corp said yesterday it
might move forward the start-up of its copper smelter and
refinery at Gresik in Indonesia, which was originally scheduled
to start operations in December 1998.

Confirming a report in the Japanese trade daily Sangyo
Shimbun, a Mitsubishi Materials spokeswoman said: "There is a
possibility that we will start operation of the Gresik smelter
earlier (than scheduled)."

She said that construction of the 200,000 ton-per-year smelter
in East Java, Indonesia's first, is scheduled for completion in
August 1998, while it would take about three months after
completion to reach full operation.

Mitsubishi Materials owns a 75 percent stake in the $600
million project. Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc of the United
States holds the remaining 25 percent.