Freeport-McMoRan’s Giant Copper Mine In Indonesia Remains Shut As Search For Missing Workers Continues

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) said late Thursday that operations at its gigantic mine in Indonesia remain suspended as it continues to search for seven workers trapped inside the giant Indonesian complex.

The miner said “extensive efforts” are ongoing to clear access routes to the service level of the Grasberg mine, where the seven contractors were working at the time of a mud flow incident on Monday. Freeport added that it requires additional time to safely remove the significant amount of material in the service level, a non-mining area.

“We are continuing to do everything possible to locate these individuals,” Freeport Chair Richard Adkerson and CEO Kathleen Quirk said in a statement. Indonesian government authorities are also working with the Freeport team to review the incident and monitor rescue operations.

Grasberg is one of the largest copper and gold mines in the world and Freeport’s crown jewel. The firm produced 359 million tonnes of copper in Indonesia, more than one-third of its entire production.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about Freeport was in the ‘bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

Copper prices have increased by 11% this year, driven by rising demand and an import tariff imposed by the Trump administration. If the mine remains shut for longer, it will further boost prices.

This comes at a time when Freeport was looking to ramp up the export of copper concentrates from Indonesia, following the government's reversal of a ban from last year that had prohibited shipments to encourage domestic refining. The license expires later this month. Freeport’s processing smelter in Indonesia is gradually boosting capacity after a fire incident last year.

Freeport stock has gained 20.3% this year.

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