Jakarta. Freeport Indonesia is still assessing the extent of the damage and the main cause of the fire at the company's newly built smelter facility in the Java Integrated Industrial Port and Estate (JIIPE) Special Economic Zone in Gresik on Monday.

Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani said the safety of workers is the top priority during both the construction and operational phases of Freeport's $3.68 billion (Rp 60 trillion) smelter.

"I was informed directly by Freeport's President Director, Tony Wenas, that a fire occurred in the clean gas separation facility of the Freeport smelter on Monday, but it has since been extinguished. All employees are safe and unharmed. I want to stress that there were no injuries, and we prioritize the safety of our workers," Rosan told reporters in his Jakarta office on Tuesday.

He confirmed that Freeport will conduct an assessment to determine the extent of the damage and the cause of the fire.

"We will also evaluate the impact on their plans to increase operational capacity to ensure that safety remains our top priority, and we must work together in synergy," he explained.

"We will look ahead to better anticipate how we can prevent this in the future, and we will carry out a comprehensive assessment together with other stakeholders," he added.

A fire broke out at Freeport Indonesia's smelter factory in the JIIPE Special Economic Zone in Gresik, East Java, accompanied by reports of two loud explosions.

In a 29-second video circulating online, flames were seen engulfing the single-line copper concentrate processing plant, which was inaugurated by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo less than a month ago on September 24.

The facility, which began operations on June 27, has an input capacity of 1.7 million tons of copper concentrate and is expected to produce approximately 650,000 tons of copper cathodes annually, along with 50 tons of gold and 210 tons of silver. It is projected to reach full capacity by December 2024.