Freeport Indonesia Targets 441,000 Tons of Copper Cathode Production by 2025
Wed 16 Jul 2025, 09:48 AM
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PT Freeport Indonesia is targeting copper cathode production from their new smelter to reach 441 thousand tons by 2025. In addition to copper cathodes, Freeport has also started producing gold and silver bullion as part of the domestic mining downstreaming process.
PT Freeport Indonesia President Director Tony Wenas stated that the mine's downstream operations have now achieved copper metal production with a purity of 99.99 percent. However, he said the next challenge lies in developing further downstream operations in the manufacturing sector.
"We in the mining sector are already producing copper metal with a purity of 99.99 percent. But further industrial development is still a challenge", Tony said when met at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
Regarding plans to increase production capacity, Tony stated that mining product processing cannot be as flexible as the manufacturing industry. “Mining production follows a long-term plan and cannot be increased simply because there is market demand”, he said.
PT Freeport Indonesia's smelter is located in Gresik, East Java. This copper, gold, and silver processing center was inaugurated by the seventh president, Joko Widodo, on Monday, September 23, 2024.
The smelter's construction required an investment of IDR 56 trillion. The plant will process 1.7 million tons of copper concentrate transported from Papua. Tony Wenas stated that the Gresik smelter is the second-largest single-line smelter in the world.
Tony stated that the smelter's operation makes PT Freeport Indonesia the world's largest upstream-downstream copper mining company. "And this is part of the President's downstream program and to supply the copper needed for electric vehicles and the energy transition", he said.
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