Freeport cuts copper production targets after Indonesia spat – by Neil Hume (Financial Times – April 25, 2017)

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Freeport-McMoRan, the world’s largest publicly traded copper company, has cut its production forecasts following a stand-off with the Indonesian government stop exports from its Grasberg mine banned.

The Arizona-based miner company had previously expected to sell 4.1bn pounds of copper this year, a figure it has now revised to 3.9bn after Jakarta banned shipments from Grasberg, the world’s second biggest copper mine.

The new guidance was revealed in a trading update that saw Freeport report adjusted net income of $220m for the three months to the end of March, against a loss of $196m a year ago when commodity prices were much lower.

Adjusted earnings per share of 15 cents were in line with market expectations. Shares in Freeport rose 6.5 per cent to $13. “During the first quarter, we continued to strengthen our financial positions despite the production interruptions experienced at our Indonesian operations,” said Freeport chief executive Richard Adkerson.

Freeport and the Indonesian government have been locked in a dispute over the country’s contract to work in the country.

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