Govt weighs Freeport restart after September mine disaster

 Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia inspected PT Freeport Indonesia's mining areas unaffected by the September 2025 landslide to assess their readiness to resume production.

"There are areas unaffected by the disaster, and these are being reviewed to resume production," Lahadalia said on Monday, adding that the inspection was conducted to minimize the potential loss of state revenue if all operations were halted.

He said the government is also considering employee costs, regional revenues, and the sustainability of the Gresik copper smelter in East Java, which has been affected by the suspension of Freeport's operations.

"My team is still there. I cannot disclose the details because they have not submitted a report," he added.

Lahadalia did not set a deadline for the evaluation, emphasizing that the process must be conducted carefully, as rushing could put lives at risk.

Director General of Minerals and Coal Tri Winarno said Freeport has requested permission to reopen mining areas that were not affected by the landslide.

"They have submitted it, but we want to assess their mitigation measures," he said.

Earlier, Freeport Indonesia President Director Tony Wenas said the Gresik smelter has been idle since the underground landslide at the Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) disrupted concentrate supply.

Freeport suspended operations after a wet ore mud landslide occurred at the GBC Extraction Panel 28–30 in Tembagapura, Central Papua, on September 8.

The company focused its resources on evacuating seven workers trapped underground. All the victims were gradually recovered, and Freeport declared the search complete on October 6.

"Hopefully, we can operate soon — even if not at full capacity — at least to produce concentrate for delivery to the smelters," Wenas said.

He added that Freeport is now focused on mine restoration, while the company continues to calculate the impact of the month-long shutdown on production.