Indonesia Approves Export Licenses for Two Copper Mines -- Update

By Sara Schonhardt

JAKARTA--Indonesia's ministry of energy and mineral resources said Friday it had approved export licenses for the country's two largest copper producers, PT Freeport Indonesia and PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tengarra.

The offer could pave the way for the companies to restart exports of concentrates, including from Freeport's massive Grasberg mine, after they were halted last month.

Freeport said the export permit was granted based on the condition that it accept a new operating license, which it has yet to do.

A Freeport spokesman said late Friday the company would continue to protect its rights under its current long-term contract "while working with the government on a mutually satisfactory replacement."

Amman Mineral couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Copper prices in London edged lower after the news. The three-month London Metal Exchange copper price was down 0.55% at a one-week low of $5,957 a metric ton Friday.

The licenses will be valid for a year and will allow Freeport Indonesia, a unit of Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan Inc. to export 1,113,105 wet metric tons of copper concentrate, the ministry said. Amman Mineral was allotted full-year export volumes of 675,000 wet metric tons of copper concentrate.

Freeport stopped production of copper concentrate at its Grasberg mine in Papua last Friday as it hadn't yet received an export license, a spokesman said earlier this week.

Indonesia's mining ministry said it had granted new mining rights to the company on Feb. 10, allowing it to receive the export recommendation. A Freeport spokesman responded last Friday saying that no agreement had been reached and exports remained restricted.

--Katherine Dunn contributed to this article.

Write to Sara Schonhardt at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2017 23:01 ET (04:01 GMT)

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