Copper mining in Indonesia

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Grasberg mine in Central Papua, one of the largest in the world. Grasberg mine.jpg
Grasberg mine in Central Papua, one of the largest in the world.

Indonesia is a major producer of copper, with the seventh-largest production in the world in 2023. Copper is one of Indonesia's main exports with smelting facilities being established in recent years. The largest copper mines in the country are the Grasberg mine in Central Papua and the Batu Hijau mine in Sumbawa, and the two mines contribute the vast majority of the national production. The mines have been accused of causing significant environmental impact through the dumping of tailings and of human rights violations against local communities.

Contents

History

The oldest known copper artefacts in Indonesia were dated to between the 4th century BC and 1st century AD, in Harimau Cave in South Sumatra. [1] Although later artefacts indicate local metallurgical processing, the raw copper was sourced from outside modern Indonesian through trade. [2] Rich copper (and gold) deposits were discovered in 1936 by Jean Jacques Dozy at Puncak Jaya in modern Central Papua, and the Grasberg mine, the largest copper mine in the country owned by Freeport McMoran, began operations there in 1973. [3] In 1990, further copper deposits were identified in Sumbawa, and the Batu Hijau (owned by Newmont) began production in 2000. [4] In 2014, the Grasberg and Batu Hijau mines accounted for 97 percent of Indonesian copper output. [5]

Since 2009, government policies requiring downstreaming has resulted in Newmont's divestment from the Batu Hijau mine while Freeport McMoran has invested in refineries. [6] The first copper refinery was opened in 1996 in Gresik, East Java, for the smelting of ores from the Freeport Grasberg mine. [7] Two more smelters, one in Gresik as Freeport's second smelter and another by Amman Mineral (Batu Hijau's new operator) in West Sumbawa, were inaugurated in September 2024. [8] As of 2024, further mining projects are in development in Banyuwangi, East Java, in Gorontalo, and in Beutong, Aceh. [9] [10]

Statistics

According to the United States Geological Survey, Indonesia mined 941 thousand tonnes and refined 310 thousand tonnes of copper in 2022, with proven copper ore reserves of 24 million tonnes. [11] In 2023, Indonesia was the world's seventh-largest producer of copper globally. [6] Copper, copper ore and concentrates was Indonesia's fifth-largest export in 2023 according to The Observatory of Economic Complexity, worth USD 8.9 billion, [12] with China and Japan being the largest buyers. [13]

Impact

Satellite image of the Ajkwa River, showing wastewater and tailings from the Grasberg mine. Grasberg wastewater in Ajkwa river - 20030529 - photomap-fr.jpg
Satellite image of the Ajkwa River, showing wastewater and tailings from the Grasberg mine.

Copper mines in Indonesia have been criticized by environmental and human rights groups for resulting pollution; the Grasberg mine was estimated to dump around 200 thousand tonnes of tailings into the Ajkwa River in Papua, devastating the ecosystem of the river and its surroundings. [3] The Batu Hijau mine has also been sued by environmental groups for dumping tailings into the ocean, while the mine operators claimed that the Ministry of Environment had granted the mine a permit to do so. [14] Indigenous Papuan groups have accused operators of the Grasberg mine of engaging in violent interventions against strikes and protests, [15] while communities in Sumbawa claimed that the Batu Hijau mine's operations had interfered with local land use rights. [16]

The Grasberg mine has been cited as one of the largest single taxpayers in Indonesia, [3] [17] contributing 0.6 percent to Indonesia's GDP (96 percent of the GDP of Mimika Regency where the mine is located) and generating 17.3 billion USD in revenue for the Indonesian government between 1992 and 2017 through taxes, export duties, royalties, and dividends. [17] The Indonesian Mining Association claimed that the two major mines generated 40 thousand jobs. [18]

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Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. Along with Lombok, it forms the province of West Nusa Tenggara, but there have been plans by the Indonesian government to split the island off into a separate province. Traditionally, the island is known as the source of sappanwood, as well as honey and sandalwood. Its savanna-like climate and vast grasslands are used to breed horses and cattle, as well as to hunt deer.

The Amung people are a group of about 17,700 people living in the highlands of the Central Papua province of Indonesia. Most Amungme live in Mimika and Puncak, in valleys like Noema, Tsinga, Hoeya, Bella, Alama, Aroanop, and Wa. A related group lives in Beoga Valley, Puncak and they are called Damal people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Nusa Tenggara</span> Province of Indonesia

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Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, a major copper producer and operates the world's largest gold mine, the Grasberg mine in Papua, Indonesia.

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Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Mali, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, the United States and Zambia. In 2023, it produced 4.05 million ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs of $1,335/ounce and 420 million pounds of copper at all-in sustaining costs of $3.21/pound. As of 31 December 2023, the company had 77 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grasberg mine</span> Mine in Central Papua, Indonesia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batu Hijau mine</span> Mine in West Sumbawa Regency, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

The Batu Hijau mine is an open pit copper-gold mine operated by PT. Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara. The mine is the second largest copper-gold mine in Indonesia behind the Grasberg mine of PT. Freeport Indonesia. The mine is located 1,530 kilometres (950 mi) east of the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Sumbawa, an island in West Nusa Tenggara Province, more precisely in the southern part of West Sumbawa Regency. The mine is the result of a ten-year exploration and construction program based on a 1999 discovery of the porphyry copper deposit. Production began in 2000.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Papua</span> Province in Indonesia

Central Papua, officially the Central Papua Province is an Indonesian province located in the central region of Western New Guinea. It was formally established on 11 November 2022 from the former eight western regencies of the province of Papua. It covers an area of 61,072.91 km2 and had an officially estimated population of 1,452,810 in mid 2023. It is bordered by the Indonesian provinces of West Papua to the west, the province of Papua to the north and northeast, by Highland Papua to the east, and by South Papua to the southeast. The administrative capital is located in Wanggar District in Nabire Regency, although Timika is a larger town.

References

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