Freeport’s Grasberg Still Not at Full Capacity

Following disputes over tough new mineral export regulations earlier this year, Freeport McMoRan’s (NYSE:FCX) Grasberg mine is still at just 80 percent capacity. The company has also run into disruptions regarding workers safety concerns at its Indonesia operations.

As quoted in the publication:

Under normal conditions, the Grasberg open pit produces around 140 000 tonnes of copper ore per day and the underground mine about 80 000 tonnes.

While the vast majority of Freeport Indonesia workers continued to perform their daily functions, absenteeism at the Grasberg open pit had affected miningand mill rates in November, Eric Kinneberg, a spokesman for the Arizona-based firm, told Reuters by email.

Freeport CEO,  Rozik Soetjipto, told Reuters:

We can maintain production at 80 percent. We have not fully recovered from the impact of the export ban and work stoppages since Oct 12 by some of our Grasberg workforce.

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