Indonesian government asked to recalculate Freeport mine damage – by Bernadette Christina Munthe (Reuters U.S. – July 25, 2018)

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s parliament has asked the government to recalculate damage to the environment from the giant Grasberg copper mine operated by the local unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc, the environment ministry said.

A 2017 report by Indonesia’s Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) calculated that Freeport’s decades-long operations at the mine in Indonesia’s remote easternmost province of Papua had caused environmental damage worth $13.25 billion.

That damage, it said, was largely a result of tailings from the mine that had extended beyond previously agreed limits and which had polluted coastal areas.

The audit also said Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) had missed royalty payments, cleared thousands of hectares of protected forest and began mining underground without environmental clearance.

The environmental issues have presented problems for Freeport and Indonesia, whose state-owned mining holding company, PT Inalum, hopes to finalize a $3.85 billion deal to acquire a majority stake in Grasberg this year.

For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-freeport-environment/indonesian-government-asked-to-recalculate-freeport-mine-damage-idUSKBN1KF1I9