Freeport Proposes for Copper Concentrate Export License Extension

PT Freeport Indonesia is completing its application for an extension of its copper concentrate export license for the next year. The US mining company still has an export license through March 2023. Freeport Indonesia spokesperson Katri Krisnati said her company is still waiting for the verification result of the copper concentrate smelter project development in the Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate (JIIPE) in Gresik Special Economic Zone (SEZ), East Java, as a condition for applying for an export license extension.

"The verification result and the approval of the 2023 RKAB [Work Plan and Budget] that the government has given through the Energy Ministry are requirements for applying for an export license extension," Katri said, citing Bisnis, Sunday, Feb 5. "We will apply for an extension in accordance with the production and marketing operation plan approved by the government in the 2023 RKAB," she said.

Although the government plans to ban copper exports in June 2023, the Energy Ministry still evaluates Freeport Indonesia's export license extension application plan. Special Staff to the Energy Minister Irwandy Arif said that his ministry would study several factors, such as production realization, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the smelter project development. "All factors must be evaluated," he said.