Freeport declares force majeure at Grasberg

Market: Metals
24/09/25

Copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), a subsidiary of US-based Freeport McMoRan, declared force majeure at its Grasberg Block Cave copper-gold mine in Indonesia after a mine landslide accident caused a production shutdown on 8 September.

The suspension of operations will continue while the company assesses damage to infrastructure and equipment in the mine and searches for the remaining missing employees continue, the company said. Two employees are confirmed to have been killed and five remain missing.

PTFI and the Indonesian government are investigating the cause of the accident.

As a result of the temporary shutdown, PTFI does not expect "significant production" of copper and gold at the site in the last quarter of 2025 and throughout 2026, hoping to return to its typical production levels in 2027.

PTFI expects operations at its Big Gossan and Deep MLZ mines, which were unaffected by the accident, to restart in the fourth quarter of 2025. The company expects the Grasberg Block Cave to have a phased ramp-up, starting in the first half of 2026.

The company will revise production forecasts to incorporate required repairs and operational restart. PTFI expects its companywide production in 2026 could be 35pc lower than initially anticipated.

The Grasberg Block Cave represents 70pc of PTFI's estimated copper production through 2029. As a whole, the Grasberg minerals district produced 655mn lbs (297,000 metric tonnes) of copper in the first six months of 2025.

By Reagan Patrowicz

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Freeport declares force majeure at Grasberg

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