Copper Cathode Output Haulted At Maynar Smelter

INDONESIA - Freeport Indonesia has halted copper cathode production at its Manyar smelter after a fire. The fire occurred at a sulphuric acid unit at the Manyar site, located in East Java province, and was extinguished, and still looking into the cause.

“Copper cathode production will exhaust the sulfuric gas that must be captured by this plant. With the occurrence of the fire, we will halt the production process,” said, Chief Executive Tony Wenas.

“The length of the production halt would depend on an investigation of the smelter fire and the company would review its production process, said Wenas.

The plant was expected to reach full capacity in January 2025 but Freeport will re-evaluate plans to ramp up production following the fire.

The smelter has an annual input capacity of 1.7 million metric tons of copper concentrate, which could produce around 900,000 tons of copper cathode, 50 tons of gold and 210 tons of silver a year.