Freeport McMoRan to Resume Copper Concentrate Shipments from Indonesia
Freeport McMoRan is set to resume copper concentrate exports from Indonesia this month under a new export license, according to sources.
Indonesia has imposed restrictions on raw material exports to encourage domestic refining and value-added exports. While Freeport has local refining capacity, it seeks to continue exporting concentrate due to a fire at its Manyar smelter in October 2022.
The mining company will begin loading cargo bound for China on Friday in anticipation of receiving an export license by month-end. A shipment from Grasberg, the world's second-largest active copper mine, is expected to depart by late February.
"Storage is becoming a big problem. We need to start shifting it," said a source.
Indonesia's trade ministry supports Freeport's plans to resume copper concentrate exports, while the mining ministry has not yet responded to inquiries.
Freeport presold copper concentrate cargoes in January, contingent on the renewal of its export license.
The resumption of exports would alleviate a global copper concentrate shortage that has impacted smelter profitability. Treatment charges, paid by miners to smelters for processing raw materials into metal, have fallen to record lows, reaching -$12.5 per ton as of February 7.