By I Made Sentana
JAKARTA, Indonesia--Indonesia would likely allow
Freeport-McMoRan Inc.'s local unit to continue exporting copper
concentrate, as the company has made progress in its effort to
refine the mineral in the country, a government official said
Friday.
"We are discussing in a good faith to settle this problem. I
think all will end well," said the director general of coal and
minerals, Raden Sukhyar.
PT Freeport Indonesia and PT Petrokimia Gresik on Thursday
signed a preliminary deal to build a $2.3 billion copper smelter in
East Java, near a petrochemical plant owned by Gresik.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said on Tuesday
said the government would ban Phoenix-based Freeport's Indonesia
subsidiary from shipping copper concentrate outside the country
after Jan. 24. The minister cited a lack of progress by the company
toward processing the mineral in Indonesia.
In January 2014, Indonesia slapped an export ban on raw minerals
to keep the lucrative refining business inside the country. The
government subsequently allowed Freeport Indonesia to resume
copper-concentrate exports after the mining company agreed to pay
an export tax and promised to build a smelter in Indonesia.
Write to I Made Sentana at I-made.sentana@wsj.com