Grasberg Copper Output May Slump on Strike as Union Says Site ‘Paralyzed’

Bloomberg reports that Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Grasberg copper and gold mine strike in Indonesia is likely to cut output by 230,000 tons of ore per day.

The market news is quoted as saying:

The strike at Grasberg — which has the world’s largest recoverable reserves of copper, according to Freeport’s website — may widen a global deficit of the metal used in pipes and wires, boosting prices. Freeport miners are also striking in Peru at the company’s Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde SAA (CVERDEC1) unit.

“Our biggest concern is how to avoid wider potential loss to production, state revenue and mining facilities,” Saleh said at a briefing in Jakarta, speaking a day after the Grasberg stoppage began. The ministry has sent a team “to Freeport to assess the latest condition and its impact,” he said.

Click here to access the entire news