Mitsubishi, Freeport Indonesia to Expand Copper Smelter Capacity

The construction of the factory’s expansion is expected to take approximately two years of time.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): PT Smelting- the joint venture project in Indonesia between Mitsubishi Materials Corp. and Freeport Indonesia announced the launch of an expansion project at its copper smelting facility in Gresik district of East Java Province. The project will see investment of $223 million.

According to Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, who officiated the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, the expansion targets 30% surge in production capacity at the smelter facility. The current production capacity is around 300,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year. Further to the proposed expansion, the capacity is likely to touch 342,000-350,000 tonnes, Hartarto added.

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The construction of the factory’s expansion is expected to take approximately two years of time. The construction is targeted to be completed before the end of December next year, said Irjuniawan P. Radjamin, Director of Business and Commercial Development.

The expansion project will add a new sulphuric acid plant, boost the capacity of equipment at the smelter and grow the number of electrolysis cells in the refinery. The boost in production capacity will significantly strengthen Indonesia’s position as one of the world’s biggest copper producers.

The expansion will boost input capacity at the plant from current level of 1 million tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes of copper concentrate.