President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met with officials of gold and copper mining company PT Freeport at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, March 28, 2024. Those present were CEO of Freeport Mc Moran Inc Richard Adkerson, President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia Tony Wenas, and Board of Commissioners of PT Freeport Indonesia Kathleen Quirk.
According to Tony Wenas, the meeting discussed the extension of PT Freeport’s mining license, which expires in 2041.
“(Regarding the extension of the mining license), it was touched on a little, but we did not discuss it in detail, (because) the time (for the meeting with the President) was not long, and it had already been discussed before,” Tony Wenas said after the meeting as quoted by Kompas.com.
Besides the extension of the mining license, the meeting also discussed the upstream mining situation and the progress of PT Freeport Indonesia’s smelter construction in Gresik, which has reached more than 92 percent.
“So earlier, Richard Adkerson and Kathleen L. Quirk and I met with the President to convey the latest developments in the upstream mining situation,” Tony said.
“We also especially discussed the progress of the smelter which has reached more than 92 percent. With the hope that it can be completed in May and immediately operate in June this year and will be in full production also this year,” he added.
Previously, President Jokowi met Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson in the United States on November 13, 2023. During the meeting, President Jokowi welcomed the discussion on the addition of Freeport shares in Indonesia and the extension of the mining license which has reached the final stage.
