Freeport’s Gresik smelter halts operations for furnace repairs
In a bid to offset the processing gap, PTFI is accelerating preparations to restart its new smelter, which has been shut down since a fire in 2024.
Freeport Indonesia's copper smelting facility in Gresik, East Java, temporarily halted operations on August 8 due to urgent furnace repairs at its PT Smelting subsidiary. Tony Wenas, president director of PTFI, informed Bisnis.com that the suspension would allow necessary repairs to be carried out, with completion expected in the third quarter of 2026.
PTFI, which holds a 66% stake in Smelting, acquired the facility in 1996 alongside a Japanese consortium, with Mitsubishi Materials Corp controlling the remaining 34%. The smelter possesses an annual production capacity of around 342,000 tonnes of copper cathode, processing concentrate from PTFI's Grasberg mine in Papua. PTFI reassured stakeholders that the temporary shutdown would not disrupt upstream operations, while simultaneously assessing the impact on sales realization timelines.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
