Jakarta. Investment Minister and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia is advocating for the extension of gold miner Freeport Indonesia's (PTFI) Special Mining Permit (IUPK) before President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's term ends in October.

"Freeport's mining permit expires in 2041. We will handle the extension before the current administration concludes," Bahlil said during a public lecture at the Institute of Public Administration (IPDN) on Thursday.

Since 2018, Indonesia has held a 51 percent stake in Freeport, with 10 percent owned by the Papua regional government-owned enterprise (BUMD) and 41 percent managed by the central government through the state-owned enterprise MIND ID.

Bahlil indicated that Indonesia aims to secure an additional 10 percent stake, raising its ownership in Freeport to 61 percent.

Additionally, Bahlil highlighted that according to Freeport's 2024 report, the government has achieved the break-even point from its 2018 purchase of the 51 percent stake in Freeport. "So, we are already profitable," he noted.

Indonesia officially became the majority shareholder of PTFI in 2018, acquiring a 51.23 percent stake through MIND ID, previously known as Inalum. The acquisition, valued at $3.85 billion (Rp 55.8 trillion at the time), increased Indonesia's ownership in PTFI from 9.36 percent to 51.23 percent.

Last month, the Indonesian government inaugurated Freeport Indonesia's $3.7 billion (Rp 60 trillion) Smelter Manyar in Gresik, East Java, the world's largest single-line copper smelter. It processes 1.7 million tons of copper concentrate annually, yielding around 650,000 tons of copper cathode. By December, it will also refine anode sludge to produce approximately 50-60 tons of gold and 220 tons of silver annually.

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