Indonesia's mining minister claims that the Indonesian mining industry has halted all mining at Freeport to look for trapped miners.

The Indonesian government and Freeport Indonesia have reached an agreement to halt the Grasberg Mine's operations to prioritize the search for trapped miners, said the mining minister of the country on Friday.

Seven workers were trapped in a large mudflow at the Grasberg Block Cave Underground Mine earlier this month. Freeport reported that two of the seven workers found dead were discovered on September 20.

Minister Bahlil Lahadalia informed reporters that production at Freeport Indonesia has not been resumed since the incident. The stoppage affects both revenue and output.

When asked when production will resume, Bahlia replied that the government and Freeport would discuss the issue.

He said that Indonesia and Freeport also had discussed extending the mining permit past 2041.

Freeport-McMoRan declared force majeure on Wednesday at the Grasberg Mine and said that it expected consolidated sales for copper and gold to be lower in the third quarter.

Due to fears about a shortage of copper, the announcement sent copper prices to an all-time high in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The company stated that a gradual restart and ramp-up at Grasberg could occur in the first quarter of 2026. Grasberg is one of the largest gold and cobalt mines in the world. (Reporting and editing by David Stanway; Fransiska Nanangoy)

(source: Reuters)