Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, has announced that PT Freeport Indonesia's copper smelter in Gresik, East Java, is now complete and set to begin operations in June 2025, ahead of its original schedule in September.

“Freeport has provided me with an update that their smelter construction, which was originally set for completion in September, has just been finished,” Bahlil said on the sidelines of the 49th Indonesia Petroleum Association Convex in Tangerang, Banten on Wednesdy, May 21, 2025.

“In June, they will start the heating process. The furnace requires 2–3 weeks to stabilize, so the concentrate input will begin within the same month,” he cited.

The Gresik smelter is a strategic project aligned with the government’s downstream policy, which aims to increase the domestic processing of raw minerals. Once fully operational, the facility is expected to process 1.7 million tons of copper concentrate per year.

In addition to the smelter update, Minister Bahlil also touched on the extension of Freeport’s Special Mining Business License (IUPK), which is due to expire in 2041. While the topic was not discussed in depth, it was mentioned during recent meetings.

“Yesterday’s discussion did not discuss about it in detail or in a very specific way, but I was invited to join the discussion. We’ll monitor how things develop,” he said.

Prior reporting by Indonesia Business Post revealed that the government had been considering various regulatory pathways for extending Freeport’s IUPK, particularly in light of the company’s role in foreign investment, export revenues, and mineral value-addition through domestic smelting.

The early completion of the Gresik smelter may strengthen Freeport’s position in ongoing negotiations with the government, as Indonesia continues to enforce a ban on raw mineral exports and pushes for full onshore processing of strategic resources.