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fter months of negotiation, the government has revealed that the shareholders of gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) have agreed to divest their controlling stake to the Indonesian government.

Despite recent violent labor unrest at PTFI’s operation in Timika, Papua, clouding the discussions between the government and PTFI parent US mining giant Freeport McMoRan Inc. (FCX), progress has been seen in the negotiations over Indonesia’s demand for the divestment.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said on Monday that FCX had agreed to sell down its controlling stake in PTFI so that Indonesia could own at least 51 percent.

At present, FCX owns 90.64 percent of PTFI, while 9.36 percent is owned by the Indonesian government.

“This month is expected to be the last month of negotiations with Freeport […] they have agreed to [divest] 51 percent, and now the details are being discussed,” he said at the State Palace.

Other pending issues that would still be under discussion, Jonan said, included tax and regional levies that would fall under the authority of the Finance Ministry.

PTFI spokesperson Riza Pratama would not confirm whether FCX had agreed to some of the government’s terms, including the divestment. However, he emphasized that all points of negotiation were part of one large
package.

“All the negotiation points need to be agreed as part of one package. The divestment is only one of the four negotiation points,” he said.

The other points, he said, included a long-term investment stability guarantee, smelter construction and contract extension until 2041.

Jonan was called in by Jokowi to the Palace for an unscheduled meeting.

While Jonan declined to reveal what he discussed with the President, the meeting was held as a mob of striking PTFI employees invaded a security post at Check Point 28 near the Mozes Kilangin Airport in Timika, Papua, on Saturday. The mob set fire to some of Freeport’s facilities.

PTFI’s operation in the country’s poorest province is on the list of highly strategic operational sites, comparable with fuel refineries, depots, seaports and airports.

As of Monday, the Timika Police had declared six persons suspects in the incident, while stating that it was still hunting down the instigators of the violence.

PTFI has also reopened access to its Grasberg mine, even though there are still some difficulties in transporting workers and mining equipment to the site. The incident has led to a financial loss of Rp 42 billion ($3.14 million).

Thousands of employees of PTFI have been involved in a series of rallies and strikes since May.

They have been protesting the company’s firing and furloughing of 4,100 workers, members of the Chemical, Energy and Mining Workers’ Union (SPKEP) and the All Indonesia Labor Union (SPSI).

PTFI, Indonesia’s oldest foreign investor and biggest taxpayer, operates the world’s biggest integrated gold and copper mine, generating 98 percent of FCX’s consolidated gold sales and 19 percent of the company’s copper supply, worth more than US$2.7 billion in 2015.

Since commencing operations more than five decades ago, Freeport has been synonymous domestically with gold, rather than copper, and has often come under public scrutiny. Affairs related to the company have long been heavily politicized, with many Indonesian politicians and activists referring to it as a symbol of United States economic imperialism in Indonesia.