PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) recently said it launched delivery of its first-ever shipment of copper concentrate to its new smelter in the Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate (JIIPE) special economic zone (KEK) in Gresik, East Java Province.
The delivery from the Amamapare Port in Mimika Regency, Central Papua Province, arrived 14 June.
The new PTFI smelter began operating this month.
Upon its arrival at the port, the concentrate will be stored in a Concentrate Barn before undergoing a further process when the smelter enters the production stage in a Flash Smelting Furnace (FSF).
Overall, the concentrate will undergo three processes before it is transformed into sheets of copper cathode, with the processes consisting of material handling, smelting in the furnace, and refining in the electrorefinery.
“The PTFI smelter in Gresik is now ready to begin operating, and as such we launched delivery of our first shipment of copper concentrate to the new smelter. This is a momentous occasion for PTFI and Indonesia,” PTFI President Director Tony Wenas said.
He noted that the delivery ship, the Mother Vessel (MV) Unitama Lily, transported a total of 22,000 tons of copper concentrate, of which around 12,000 tons will be refined in the PTFI smelter, and 10,000 tons will be delivered to PT Smelting Gresik.
The shipment is expected to arrive at the PTFI Smelter Port in the JIIPE KEK on 22 July.
Construction of the smelter first began in October 2021, and was completed in accordance with the schedule determined by the government, Freeport said. It is the second smelter belonging to PTFI and is the biggest smelter in the world with a single line design. It will have the capacity to refine copper concentrate at a production capacity of up to 1.7 million tons once fully operational.
Source: PT Freeport Indonesia