Jakarta. US miner Freeport McMoran has agreed to divest 12 percent of its stake in a local arm to Indonesia at no cost, according to the sovereign wealth fund Danantara.

Indonesia has been pursuing a divestment deal as the country wishes to have greater control of one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines. The government was initially nudging the American company to divest 10 percent of its shares. However, Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani revealed Tuesday that Freeport-McMoran was willing to let go of 12 percent of its stake “free of charge”. Rosan had recently returned from a US trip, during which he met with Freeport McMoran’s top brass for another round of negotiations.

“They [Freeport Mc-Moran] have said yes to divesting their 12 percent stake free of charge. … We [the Indonesian government] were negotiating for 10 percent, but praise be to God, we got an [extra] 12 percent stake,” Rosan told the press in Jakarta.

Rosan also said that Freeport had made some commitments to set up hospitals and universities in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua, which is also the center of the company’s operations. The investment minister then went on to say that these facilities aimed to produce better doctors to meet the local demand.

The government currently holds a 51.23 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia mainly via the state-run mining holding MIND ID, thereby leaving the remaining 48.77 percent to Freeport-McMoran. Danantara now has all state-run enterprises, including MIND ID, under its wings. Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia had previously said that Indonesia intended to close Freeport’s divestment deal by October.

Just recently, Freeport decided to suspend its operations at the Grasberg Block Cave mine in Papua after seven workers got trapped in a landslide. The incident has claimed two lives. As of Friday, the five other individuals were still missing. The workers were conducting development activities when a sudden rush of around 800,000 metric tons of wet material entered the mine. The flow also reached the service level of the mine where the missing workers were.

According to the company’s estimates, the Grasberg ore body makes up half of Freeport Indonesia’s estimated proven and probable reserves as of the end of 2024. It also represents 70 percent of its previously forecast copper and gold production through 2029.

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