REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) has started selling its processed gold to PT Aneka Tambang (Antam). Freeport's sale of 125 kg of refined gold to Antam is part of a five-year cooperation contract with a value of 12.5 billion US dollars.
Minister of State Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir said this part of the synergy of Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID) in downstream gold and reducing imports. Erick said the Freeport refining facility has a production capacity of up to 50 tonnes of gold a year, where Antam will absorb as much as 30 tonnes.
“This cooperation brings great benefits to the national economy. Downstream is an option that cannot be negotiated,” said Erick in Jakarta, Friday (2/21/2025).
Erick said the move was in line with President Prabowo Subianto's directive that encouraged the Red and White Cabinet to implement strategic programs, including energy self-sufficiency and natural resource downstream (SDA). With this strategic move, Erick is optimistic that the downstream mining sector, especially gold, can further strengthen Indonesia's position in the global market and have a positive impact on national economic growth.
“Our gold reserves are the sixth largest in the world at 2,600 metric tons, but for gold bullion reserves, we are ranked 43rd in the world,” Erick said.
With the cooperation of Freeport and Antam, Erick continued, Indonesia does not have to send raw materials, but everything can be processed domestically and provide added value to the national economy. According to Erick, this cooperation will have a major impact on Indonesia's economic resilience.
“Freeport produced 50 tons of gold, and Antam absorbed 30 tons. The impact is tremendous because it is able to save foreign exchange reserves of up to Rp 200 trillion in five years,” Erick said.
Erick added that the gold sale is a follow-up to the purchase and purchase agreement between Freeport and Antam that had been agreed in early November. The cooperation is also expected to reduce Antam's dependence on imports of precious metal raw materials, especially gold bars.
On the other hand, Antam President Director Nico Kanter explained that the synergy established with PT Freeport Indonesia is a form of downstream of the gold industry in Indonesia. “With this cooperation, it will certainly help Antam increase the sourcing of gold raw materials from the country. Gold from PT Freeport Indonesia will be processed at our Processing and Refining Plant to be processed into Antam precious metal products,” Nico said.
Nico also mentioned that this cooperation will optimize the production of Antam's precious metal gold products amid high market demand. “With the certainty of sourcing domestic gold raw materials amid record high momentum, gold prices will provide certainty to the public regarding the availability of Antam's precious metal products. We continue to optimize production to meet the needs of the community and will certainly improve Antam's performance,” Nico said.
Meanwhile, PTFI President Director Tony Wenas explained that the incident that occurred at one of the facilities of the PTFI Smelter complex did not stop the company from carrying out the company's commitment to downstream mining. The construction of PMR has been completed and producing pure gold is a testament to PTFI's seriousness in running downstream.
“As a company that has domestically integrated processing and refining from upstream to downstream, PTFI has realized downstream copper and currently downstream gold. In the near future will follow the silver downstream,” Tony said.
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