Government Should Act Firmly Against Freeport: HIPMI

Jakarta, March 1 (Antara) - The Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association urged the government to act firmly against gold and copper mining firm, PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), and scrap the company's permit to export concentrates. "Hipmi continues to ask the government to act firmly against Freeport," Chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI), Bahlil Lahadalia, said here on Tuesday. Lahadalia said the government granted an export permit to Freeport on the condition that the company would build a smelter in Gresik, East Java. But until now, Lahadalia noted, the progress on this front was too slow, and only 14 percent of the work on Freeport's smelter has been completed. Lahadalia reminded that all mining companies have been experiencing financial problems. He said that Freeport's permit to export concentrates is unfair to the domestic mining companies. "All companies are facing the same problem," he said. Earlier, on February 9, 2016, the gold and copper mining company, Freeport Indonesia, managed to obtain a six-month extension for its export permit for copper concentrate. "Freeport has obtained a permit for exporting copper concentrates for a period of six months as proposed," Director General of Mineral and Coal, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bambang Gatot Ariyono, had announced here. The ministry grants extension for copper concentrate export permits for one million tons for the next six months in accordance with the regulations. "The permission issued today is for one million tons, in accordance with the regulation issued by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs and the Ministry," he said. According to Bambang, the recommendation was made as the company had responded and was willing to pay an export duty of five per cent. Meanwhile, the deposit commitment for developing a smelter, amounting to US$ 530 million, is still to be discussed. "Freeport has responded to the requirement and is willing to meet the five percent export duty condition. Meanwhile, the issue of US$530 million worth of cost will be discussed later," Bambang said. He said he was optimistic that the company will meet its target of constructing a smelter as the US-based mining company has paid a deposit of US$ 168 million although the work on building a smelter, as part of its obligation, has not reached 60 percent. The recommendation for a copper concentrate export license was issued by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and was submitted to the Ministry of Commerce, authorized to issue the export license.***2***