The Indonesian subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. will be offering the public a 5% stake in the mining company. With the Indonesian government pushing foreign-owned miners to put in added value to the country, the offering is expected to help seal the deal in Freeport's long-running contracts to operate in Indonesia. The company's current contract for its Grasberg mine, the second largest copper mine in the world, situated in the province of Papua is set to end in 2021. Before making more investments to the tune of USD 15 billion to continue operations, Freeport wants to have a fresh deal already in place.
Industry Minister Mohamad S. Hidayat talked with the CEO of Freeport Indonesia, Rozik Soetjipto, and updated reporters that "renegotiation talks are still ongoing." The talks have been going for more than a year now as the Indonesian government wants bigger royalty payments, commitments on domestic processing, and greater divestment by foreign miners, revealed a Reuters report.
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