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Papua governor pushes for Freeport contract extension
All mine: Clouds hang low over the Freeport mining site in Tembagapura, Papua
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All mine: Clouds hang low over the Freeport mining site in Tembagapura, Papua. The Papua administration has called for an extension of gold and copper miner Freeport Indonesiaâs contract of work, which will expire in 2021, for the sake of local prosperity. (Kompas/Iwan Santosa) (Kompas/Iwan Santosa)
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span class="inline inline-center">All mine: Clouds hang low over the Freeport mining site in Tembagapura, Papua. The Papua administration has called for an extension of gold and copper miner Freeport Indonesia's contract of work, which will expire in 2021, for the sake of local prosperity. (Kompas/Iwan Santosa)
Papua governor Lukas Enembe has urged the government to immediately provide certainty on the extension of the work contract for gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) until 2041.
The governor pointed to the pivotal contribution of the company, a subsidiary of US-based Freeport McMoRan Inc., to the province's economy.
'Papua's economy depends on Freeport. Around 46 percent of Papua's gross regional product [PDRB] comes from the operation of the company. Moreover, 91 percent of Mimika regency's PDRB is from Freeport,' said Enembe on Tuesday.
'Currently, Freeport has more than 30,000 workers, 7,772 of whom are native Papuans. If Freeport's mining contract is not extended, this will disrupt our economy,' he went on. The governor was speaking after he visited a Freeport mining site in Tembagapura.
Enembe expressed hope that President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo would consider the future of Freeport and provide certainty on the company's contract extension, because investing in the mining sector required long-term preparation of infrastructure.
'Handling mining exploration activities is complicated. It takes around 5-10 years to develop its infrastructure. So far, Freeport has built infrastructure for its current work contract, which lasts until 2021,' he said.
Enembe went on to say that it was hoped that the Papua administration could be involved in the negotiations for Freeport's contract extension, because the company's concession areas were in Papua.
The governor also expressed hope that the presence of Freeport could improve prosperity in Papua and that Papuans could become part of the company.
'In principle, the Papuans want to join with and become part of Freeport,' he said.
Governor Enembe and wife Yulce Enembe visited the Freeport mining site on Tuesday to attend the Oikoumene Christmas celebration for the company's workers, which was held at the Tembagapura Sport Hall.
PTFI president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin said the visit by the governor, who also took a look at Freeport's operations, would hopefully give a better understanding as to why the company's work contract needed to be extended.
'Huge investment will need a long time. The governor has seen how complicated and huge Freeport's investment for the operation of underground mining activities is. He has directly witnessed the process to change ores to concentrates. That's why we need a long time to start our operations,' said Maroef.
Freeport's work contract will expire in 2021. The company wants its contract extended until 2041, because it has begun to operate underground mines. Freeport is set to close its open-pit mines, which are no longer profitable. (ebf)
