Freeport asks Indonesia to cut or postpone US$530 smelter bond

[JAKARTA] Freeport McMoRan Inc has asked Indonesia to reduce a US$530 million smelter bond the local unit of the US copper mining giant must set aside before receiving an extension of its export permit, Indonesia's mining minister said on Tuesday.

Freeport's 6-month copper concentrate export permit expired last week amid a deadlock over the bond, which Indonesia has requested as a guarantee that the miner will complete construction of another local smelter.

"They have appealed to ask whether we can postpone it or give them a discount, but we asked them to show their commitment in another equivalent way," Energy Minister Sudirman Said told reporters, referring to an exchange of letters with the Phoenix, Arizona-based company.

REUTERS