Freeport Indonesia announces that the investigation into the Grasberg incident is complete
Freeport Indonesia announced on Friday that the investigation into a mudflow that killed seven employees at its Grasberg gold and copper mine is over and that the government has made improvements recommendations to the company. Yuliot Tajung, the deputy mining minister, had earlier told reporters that the ministry would be evaluating the incident to determine if negligence or regulatory violations played a role in the disaster. Around 800,000 metric tonnes of wet materials flooded the Grasberg Block Cave GBC, one of the mines in the complex on September 8, killing seven workers.
"PT Freeport Indonesia received improvements recommendations from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and it is currently following all of these recommendations," Katri Krisnati, a spokesperson for the company, said in a press release. She did not provide details of the suggestions.
Freeport-McMoRan, the parent company, announced in October that an investigation was being conducted "involving external experts and Indonesian officials".
The ministry's assessment was not clearly separated from the Freeport investigation.
Yuliot, the minister of interior, said that the ministry was trying to find out the cause of this fatal incident. He added that Freeport could resume its operations as soon as it is deemed safe.
He said that if, based on the evaluation we make, the activities are deemed to be safe, then they will be allowed. The review will distinguish between the areas of the Grasberg Complex that were affected by mud flows and those that weren't.
Freeport-McMoRan said that the Big Gossan Mine and Deep Mill Level Zone at Grasberg mines could be restarted in the fourth quarter as they were not affected by the mudflow. A phased restart of GBC is expected to take place during 2026.
The GBC represents approximately 70% of Freeport Indonesia’s previously estimated gold and copper output through 2029. Reporting by Bernadette Munthe; Writing by Fransiska Nanangoy; Editing and Revision by Martin Petty, John Mair
(source: Reuters)