Due to a strike at Freeport Indonesia’s Grasberg mine in Papua, the company’s copper production has fallen by about a third thus leading to speculation that global copper prices may increase after having fallen almost ten percent in 2014. About one thousand workers of Freeport Indonesia have been on strike since the second week of October after a fatal accident at the end of last month. The workers request the sacking of around 50 managers at the subsidiary of US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold.

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The Chief Executive at Newmont Nusa Tenggara, Martiono Hadianto, said that on Wednesday evening (03/09) a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the USA- based mining giant and the Indonesian government after an 8-month dispute over the country’s ban on exports of mineral ore (implemented on 12 January 2014). The mining company can now resume copper concentrate exports next week. Earlier this week it had been announced that both sides would come to an agreement.

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The Indonesian government and Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) have reportedly agreed on the content of a renegotiation package after an 8-month dispute over the mineral ore export ban. NNT, subsidiary of the USA-based Newmont Mining Corporation, will be allowed to resume copper concentrate exports up to 200,000 tons (with a value of about USD $400 million) until the end of 2014. Last week, NNT already announced it would not seek international arbitration over this matter.

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On 24 August 2014, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic topics such as the monetary policy of Bank Indonesia, revisions to coal export regulations and franchise businesses, poverty, the telecommunication sector, Prabowo Subianto’s legal challenge, and more.

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On 17 August 2014, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic topics such as the performance of the rupiah exchange rate, plantations, Freeport Indonesia, economic growth, electricity, property, guidelines for the construction of a PT PMA, and more.

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Contrary to Newmont Nusa Tenggara (which has been in a heated dispute with the Indonesian government), Freeport Indonesia obtained a permit to resume copper concentrate exports from Indonesia after these had ceased since January 2014 when the government implemented the ban on exports of unprocessed minerals. Freeport Indonesia Chief Executive Rozik Sutjipto announced that the memorandum of understanding between both sides has been signed. The miner is the Indonesian unit of US based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold.

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Indonesia's Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik opened the possibility for Newmont Nusa Tenggara, subsidiary of US-based gold miner Newmont Mining Corporation, to resume exports of ore concentrates, provided that Newmont shows its commitment to build a smelter in Indonesia as in accordance with the new and controversial 2009 Mining Law. One of the targets of this new law is to boost Indonesia’s downstream mining industry by prohibiting export of unprocessed minerals.

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According to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, approximately one-third of Indonesians aged over ten years smoke (36 percent), with 67 percent of men and 4.5 percent of women smoking some form of tobacco. While Indonesia is the fifth-largest tobacco market in the world, it is the only World Health Organization (WHO) member state in Southeast Asia that has not ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC was developed in response to the globalisation of the tobacco industry and tobacco use.

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R. Sukhyar, Director General for Coal and Mineral Resources at the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said that Freeport Indonesia and Newmont Nusa Tenggara, two of the largest copper miners in Indonesia, have shown their commitment to build refining facilities (in line with the 2009 Mining Law) by agreeing to transfer a total of USD $140 million to the government as a deposit guarantee. Freeport will transfer USD $115 million, whereas Newmont will transfer the remaining USD $25 million.

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PT Indosmelt, an Indonesian smelting company, is planning to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) somewhere in 2015. Through this corporate action the company aims to raise USD $450 to $500 million in new funds by selling 49 percent of its enlarged capital to the public. President Director of Indosmelt Natsyir Mansyur said that the company is currently in talks with Kresna Graha Sekurindo to act as lead underwriter. The funds will be used to build a gold refinery.

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After years of struggle and negotiations there now seems light at the end of the tunnel for the Indonesian government and US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Both sides signed a Head of Agreement on Thursday 12 July 2018 that will give Indonesia’s state-owned mining company Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (better known as Inalum) and the local government of Papua a 51.23 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia, implying the company - the operator of the Grasberg mine, which is the world’s largest gold mine and second-largest copper mine – will come under Indonesian control.

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Reportedly, the government of Indonesia will hand Freeport Indonesia a temporary export permit for copper concentrate shipments, hence being able to bypass (for the moment) Indonesia's controversial ban on mineral ore exports. Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan, has been unable to export copper concentrate for the past three months, thus missing out on about USD $1 billion in revenue. Due to the drop in exports, mining activities at the Grasberg mine in Papua fell drastically, giving rise to concern about layoffs.

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The Indonesian Mining Institute (IMI) is concerned about foreign perceptions of Indonesia's mining sector. According to the Fraser Institute, a Toronto-based public policy research and educational organization, Indonesia now ranks lowest in terms of the "state of the investment climate in the mining sector across the world". A new survey, conducted by the Canadian think-tank, shows that Indonesia's recently introduced government policies (stemming from the New Mining Law) that affect the activities in the mining sector has seriously undermined foreigners' confidence in a conducive investment climate in Indonesia's mining sector.

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Uncertainty about the continuation of the company's copper concentrate exports could imply that Freeport Indonesia needs to terminate operations at the Grasberg mine in Papua. Currently, shipments of copper concentrate from the mine to the smelter in Gresik (East Java) have ceased, while the company's storage facilities are full to the brim. Part of workers at the Grasberg mine have been sent home as the processing plant has not been producing any concentrate since Friday (10/02).

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Chances are big that Freeport Indonesia will conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange to comply with the divestment requirement. Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, operates the vast Grasberg mine in Papua. This mine is the world's largest gold mine and third-largest copper mine. The Indonesian government's divestment requirement is one the demands for starting contract extension negotiations in 2019.

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It remains unclear whether Indonesia will revise the export ban that is stipulated by the 2009 Mining Law (Law No. 4/2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining) and is supposed to come into effect on 12 January 2017. The 2009 Mining Law stipulates a ban on the export of unprocessed and semi-processed ores from Indonesia. The regulation aims to boost development of the nation's smelting capacity, hence becoming an exporter of materials that are positioned higher up in the value chain while curbing Indonesia's current dependence on exports of raw materials.

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Freeport Indonesia has requested for a recommendation from Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to obtain another six-month permit for the export of copper concentrate. The existing permit expires on 8 August 2016. Since Indonesia's ban on mineral ore exports was implemented in January 2014, Freeport Indonesia - subsidiary of US-based natural resources company Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc - has been required to obtain six-month permits in order to continue shipments of copper concentrate.

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The bargaining over the 10.64 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia has begun. Whereas Freeport proposed a price of USD $1.7 billion, Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources says the stake is only worth USD $630 million. Due to Government Regulation No. 77/2014 on the Implementation of Mineral and Coal Mining Business Activities, Freeport Indonesia - the local unit of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan - has to divest a 30 percent stake (to an Indonesian party) gradually up to the year 2019. Currently, the central government already owns a 9.36 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia.

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Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of US-based energy and mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Inc, will be allowed by the Indonesian government to operate the Grasberg mine in Papua (the world’s largest gold mine and third-largest copper mine) beyond 2021 (when the existing contract expires). Sudirman Said, Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, told reporters that the central government has provided assurances to Freeport. However, it will require a regulatory amendment first before Freeport Indonesia can submit a proposal for extension.

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One of the weak points of Indonesia, one that seriously hurts the country’s investment climate as well as foreign confidence, is regulatory uncertainty. In 2009 the government of Indonesia introduced Law No. 4/2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining (New Mining Law) which caused a shock in Indonesia’s natural resources sector as it includes several new policies that make investors think twice before investing in Indonesia as the consequences of these new policies are far-reaching. However, a possible new amendment to the law causes new concern.

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