(October 4, 2022) Indonesia’s President, Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, was “blown away” by the complexity of PT Freeport Indonesia’s mining operations after recently visiting not only the mine site but also the company’s nearby communities of Tembagapura and Kuala Kencana. Watch a video of the visit here.
“I’m blown away by PT Freeport Indonesia operations’ complexities,” Jokowi said during a speech given during the visit. “I could only imagine how complicated it was to build a mining project in such a remote and geographically challenging environment. But you did it. And it sustains.”
Richard Adkerson, Freeport-McMoRan’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, and Kathleen Quirk, President, Freeport-McMoRan, traveled to Papua to personally welcome the president and his entourage in Tembagapura. Adkerson, Quirk and Tony Wenas, President Director-PTFI, joined Jokowi and his traveling party for a site tour. The tour included a visit to the Grasberg open pit, the remote underground equipment control room and the rail haulage automation system at Grasberg Block Cave mine.
During the two-day visit, the president also met with select employee representatives in a town hall meeting at the Tembagapura Sports Hall. President Jokowi expressed his appreciation of the employees’ resilience in the challenging work and acknowledged their significant contributions to the Mimika Regency and Papua.
“This is a significant mining operation; it is even one of the largest underground mines in the world,” Jokowi said during the visit. “I’m proud to know that the mine is run by talented sons and daughters of our nation. You have important contributions to Mimika Regency. Sixty-eight percent of Mimika’s gross regional domestic product is from Freeport, and Papua’s GRDP is 34 percent. That is huge.”
Adkerson noted the company’s pride in being a strategic partner with Indonesia.
“PT Freeport Indonesia has experienced great success since 2018,” Adkerson said. “We’re generating a lot of revenue, a great future, and we have long-lasting resources ahead of us. We’ve got an exceptional team to execute our plans to develop those resources. With the government’s increasing ownership, 70 percent of the profits will go to the people of Indonesia, and we’re proud to be part of that transformation.”
During the visit, Jokowi also launched 5G mining technology, a collaboration between PTFI and PT Telekomunikasi Seluler, to enhance underground mining safety and productivity.