Precedence: bulk PT-FI GETS OK TO UP Cu ORE OUTPUT... The Indonesian government has given approval to PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of the US-based Freeport McMoRan, to increase copper ore production to 300,000mt/day from 160,000mt/day, a high-ranking official at the ministry of mines~and energy said today. "I signed the letter allowing Freeport to increase its copper production last week," Rozik Munir, the director general of mining at the ministry of mines and energy, told reporters at the sidelines of coal seminar in Jakarta. PT Freeport Indonesia has agreed to increase the government's royalty as one of the requirements to raise its copper production. The company will double the government's royalty payment on copper and increase it threefold on gold. The increase will net the government $137-mil in revenue from the company in the year 2000. WILL ASSESS ENVIRONMENT IMPACT Besides the increase in its royalty, the government also demanded that Freeport review its environmental management, as local environmentalists have accused the company's waste management of having damaged the environment. Human rights activists and environmentalists have opposed the planned production increase, saying the plan could further damage the environment. PT Freeport Indonesia processed an average of 196,400mt/day of ore in 1998, to produce 1.4-bil lb of copper, 2.2-mil oz of gold, and 3.4-mil oz of silver per year. As of December 31, 1998, the company had proved and probable reserves of 2.4-bil mt grading 1.93% copper equivalent, containing 51.3-bil lb of recoverable copper and 64.4-mil oz of recoverable gold. **************************************** OTTIS SIMOPIAREF PO Box 545 6700 AM Wageningen The Netherlands Ph: +31.6.51700331 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] **************************************** ---------- SiaR WEBSITE: http://apchr.murdoch.edu.au/minihub/siarlist/maillist.html
