JAKARTA – PT Freeport Indonesia expects its annual copper and gold sales to jump next year as it transitions to operating in its underground mine, CEO Tony Wenas told a virtual conference on Friday.
Freeport Indonesia expects this year's copper and gold sales to be lower than usual at 0.77-billion pounds and 0.82-million ounces respectively.
When it transitions to an underground mine, however, sales of copper in 2021 are expected to jump to 1.4-billion pounds, while gold sales are expected to increase to 1.4-million ounces, Wenas said.
Freeport Indonesia, operator of Grasberg, the world’s second-biggest copper mine, is on track shift to all-underground mining by 2022.