Jakarta. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo inaugurated two copper smelters on Monday, valued at around Rp 77 trillion ($5 billion), belonging to Amman Mineral Internasional in West Nusa Tenggara and Freeport Indonesia in East Java, as his ten-year presidential term nears its end next month.

During the inauguration of Freeport Indonesia's Smelter Manyar at the Java Integrated Industrial and Ports Estate (JIIPE) in Gresik, Jokowi reflected on the challenging process of lobbying Freeport McMoRan to build a smelter in Indonesia. “This has been a demanding and tiring task during my presidency—encouraging mining companies to establish a smelter,” he said.

He recalled the lengthy negotiations with Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson. “I know this is a significant investment—Rp 56 trillion ($3.68 billion) is no small amount. The company had to assess the benefits of such a facility,” he added.

Land preparations began in 2018, and after the groundwork was laid, Jokowi attended the groundbreaking ceremony. “After 30 months, we can finally inaugurate it today,” he said.

Freeport Launches World's Largest Single-Line Copper Smelter in Indonesia

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

Jokowi estimated that state revenue from Freeport Indonesia could reach around Rp 80 trillion, derived from dividends, royalties, corporate taxes, employee income tax, and local taxes. “The construction of the Freeport Indonesia smelter is our effort to transform Indonesia into an advanced industrial nation that processes its natural resources instead of exporting raw materials,” he asserted.

He also emphasized that the smelter would create numerous new jobs, aligning with his vision for downstream processing, which he believes is vital for Indonesia's economic future. “Previously, our GDP growth depended on domestic consumption, but we aim to shift it toward the productivity of both state-owned and private companies,” he explained.

Jokowi Launches Amman Mineral’s $1.4 Billion Copper Smelter in W. Sumbawa

Earlier on the same day, Jokowi inaugurated a copper smelter owned by Amman Mineral Internasional in West Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara.

“We want the world to rely on Indonesia for copper products—be it cathode sheets, copper foil, or cables. We will no longer export raw materials,” Jokowi declared at the smelter’s inauguration ceremony.

The project, which includes a precious metal refinery, represents an investment of Rp 21 trillion (approximately $1.4 billion). The new smelter, covering 272 hectares, is expected to produce its first copper cathode by the end of 2024, with an annual capacity of 900,000 tons of copper concentrates, and outputs of 220,000 tons of copper cathodes, 18 tons of gold, 55 tons of silver, and 850,000 tons of sulfuric acid byproducts.

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