ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) continues to develop a long-term underground mine, namely the Wild Cat in the Grasberg district, Central Papua.
Quoting from Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s Q1/2024 performance report. (FCX), the Wildcat deposit is projected to produce more than 7 billion pounds of copper and 6 million ounces of gold between 2029 and the end of 2041.
For this reason, extending the special mining business permit (IUPK) after 2041 is deemed necessary to extend the life of this project.
Meanwhile, the pre-production development stage for Wild Cats will begin in 2022 and is expected to continue for around 10 years.
“Capital investment is estimated to average around US$400 million per year during this period,” wrote the report, quoted on Sunday, April 28 2024.
The mine is expected to produce around 90,000 metric tons of ore per day when fully operational.
Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the Wild Cat mine is estimated to produce 560 million pounds of copper and 520,000 ounces of gold. This will provide sustainable benefits for PTFI in the long term and on a large scale.
“From PTFI’s experience developing underground mining, Wildcat will benefit from substantial shared infrastructure,” the report wrote.
Not only that, in developing its mine, PTFI also plans to switch to using energy sources from liquefied natural gas from previously using coal to liquefied natural gas. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the Grasberg mining area. PTFI is also planning to invest in a new gas-fired combined cycle facility.
“Capital expenditure for new facilities, which will be incurred over the next 4 years, is estimated at US$1 billion which represents an additional cost of US$0.4 billion compared to previously planned investments to upgrade existing coal units,” the report said. the. (ATN)
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