Freeport Smelter to Resume Operations in Third Quarter of 2026, Reach Full Capacity in 2027
10 Jun 2026, 08:53 AM
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PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) is targeting the resumption of operations at its copper cathode smelter in the Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate (JIIPE) in Manyar, Gresik, East Java, in the third quarter of 2026.The company had previously aimed to restart the Manyar smelter in the second quarter of 2026 after operations were suspended due to reduced concentrate supply from the Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) underground mine.PTFI President Director Tony Wenas said the smelter is expected to restart in the third quarter of 2026 and gradually increase production capacity in line with ongoing recovery efforts at the GBC underground mine.“The ramp-up will begin in the third quarter, depending on concentrate availability. Full operations will follow the same timeline as GBC. The smelter can only operate at full capacity once concentrate supply returns to normal,” Tony told reporters at the House of Representatives complex on Wednesday.During the same occasion, Tony said the GBC underground mine is expected to return to 100% operational capacity by the end of 2027 following remediation work after a landslide disrupted operations.The company targets the mine's recovery to reach 65% capacity in the second half of 2026 and 75% in the first half of 2027.“In the second half of this year, we expect to reach 65%. In the first half of next year, it should reach 75%, and by the end of the year we are targeting close to 100%,” Tony said.Previously, Tony explained that utilization rates at the Manyar smelter had reached 70% in August 2025 before production was halted following the landslide at GBC in early September 2025.“The new smelter in Manyar, Gresik, will remain offline through the end of the year. The plan is to resume production in the second quarter of 2026,” Tony said during a hearing with the House of Representatives’ Commission VI on November 24, 2025.Meanwhile, two of Freeport’s underground mines — Big Gossan and the Deep Mill Level Zone (DMLZ) — have resumed operations.The two mines currently produce around 70,000 tonnes of concentrate per day, equivalent to approximately 30% of Freeport’s total mining capacity of 210,000 tonnes per day.Tony said all concentrate produced by the two mines is being supplied to PT Smelting’s facility in Gresik, East Java.The Manyar smelter, meanwhile, is currently processing anode slime, a byproduct generated by PT Smelting. The material is refined to extract gold, silver, and other associated minerals.Freeport’s first smelter, PT Smelting, was established in 1996 through a partnership with a Japanese consortium and is operated by Mitsubishi. Located in Gresik, East Java, it was Indonesia’s first copper smelter.PT Smelting is capable of processing 1 million tonnes of copper concentrate annually into 300,000 tonnes of copper cathodes to meet domestic and export demand.Freeport’s second smelter is located within the JIIPE industrial estate in Manyar, Gresik. Construction began in October 2021 but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic before the facility was officially inaugurated on June 27, 2024.The facility is the world’s largest single-line copper cathode smelter by design and is capable of processing up to 1.7 million tonnes of copper concentrate annually once fully operational.The smelter is equipped with a refinery unit, precious metals refinery, oxygen plant, sulfuric acid plant, desalination facility, and effluent and wastewater treatment systems to maximize the utilization of raw materials, byproducts, and waste while achieving a highly efficient smelting and refining process.However, less than three weeks after its inauguration, the smelter suffered a fire incident that forced the company to suspend production and undertake repairs.Following the incident, the government granted Freeport permission to continue exporting copper concentrate in 2025. The export permit was valid for six months, from March 17, 2025, to September 16, 2025.
