Indonesian President Joko Widodo has inaugurated two major copper smelters, strengthening the nation’s position in the global mining industry. The new facilities are part of Indonesia’s broader goal to expand its downstream industry and reduce reliance on raw material exports by processing its own natural resources.
One of the smelters, owned by PT Amman Mineral International, is a $1.4 billion (Rp21.26 trillion) project located in West Sumbawa Regency, West Nusa Tenggara Province. It is equipped to process 900,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of copper concentrate and utilizes advanced double flash cyclone technology to produce copper cathode as its main product. In addition, the facility is expected to yield 220,000 tonnes of copper cathodes, 18 tonnes of gold, 55 tonnes of silver, and 850,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid annually as a by-product.
The second smelter, owned by PT Freeport, is located in the Gresik Special Economic Zone (KEK) JIIPE, East Java Province. This facility, with an investment of Rp56 trillion, is designed to process 1.7 million tonnes of copper concentrate sourced from Papua, also producing copper cathode.
Widodo emphasized the significance of enhancing the downstream industry to achieve Indonesia’s goal of becoming a developed and industrialized nation. He highlighted that as a country with the world’s seventh-largest copper reserves, Indonesia is now taking control of processing its own natural resources, moving towards self-sufficiency in industrial production.
The operations of these two smelters are expected to have a considerable positive impact on the national and local economies, particularly by boosting the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of West Nusa Tenggara and creating new job opportunities for local communities.
Widodo stated: “As the owner of the world’s seventh-largest copper reserves, we have entered a new chapter in the downstreaming of the copper industry and are working towards becoming an advanced industrial nation by processing our own natural resources.”