PTFI Targets Gresik Smelter to Produce 5 Million Pounds of Copper Cathodes This Month
Tue 15 Sep 2026, 09:10 AM
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President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia Tony Wenas is targeting the copper cathode smelter in the Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate (JIIPE) industrial area in Manyar, Gresik, East Java, to begin producing 5 million pounds of copper cathodes in September 2026.
“Feeding into the new Freeport Indonesia smelter began last August, and production is expected to begin this September, with around 5 million pounds of copper cathodes,” Tony said during a working meeting with Commission XII at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
Tony said the Freeport Indonesia smelter in Manyar had temporarily halted operations due to insufficient concentrate supplies from Freeport's mining operations. The disruption was caused by a landslide at the Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) underground mine on September 8, 2025.
As a result of the incident, Tony said, Freeport Indonesia's concentrate was only sufficient to supply PT Smelting. PT Smelting is Freeport Indonesia's first smelter and also Indonesia's first copper smelter.
Meanwhile, the Freeport Indonesia Smelter, also known as the Manyar Smelter, is Freeport Indonesia's second smelter.
“Then, if we look at October 2026, 35 million pounds is the copper cathode production from the new smelter (Freeport Indonesia Smelter),” Tony said.
According to his presentation, copper cathode production at the Freeport Indonesia Smelter is expected to increase from 35 million pounds in October 2026 to 55 million pounds in November, before rising to 57 million pounds in December 2026.
In the first quarter of 2027, cathode production at the Freeport Indonesia Smelter is projected to reach 137 million pounds, rising to 145 million pounds in the second quarter of 2027.
“So, the total for 2026, as I mentioned earlier, is 800 million pounds of copper that will be produced from the two smelters, namely 600 million pounds from PT Smelting and 200 million pounds of copper from the PTFI smelter,” Tony said.
Freeport Indonesia is targeting its production capacity, following the landslide at the Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) underground mine on September 8, 2025, to fully recover to 100% by 2028.
Tony explained that in the first half of 2026, GBC mine production capacity following the landslide was around 50% of normal capacity. Production capacity is then expected to increase to 65% in the second half of 2026.
Furthermore, production capacity is targeted to begin recovering to 75% in the first half of 2027, before reaching 100% throughout the second half of the year.
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