"We will build smelter as expected by the President. We will start as soon as possible and to finish it in five years," Adkerson said here on Friday afternoon.
The U.S. mining giant, the parent company of PT Freeport Indonesia, has agreed to build a copper smelter with a processing capacity of 2-2.6 million tons of copper ore per year as part of the new contract of the company in Indonesia.
The smelter is to refine copper concentrate produced by PT Freeport Indonesia, which has large copper and gold mine in Grasberg Papua.
An Indonesian law regulation bans exports of unprocessed minerals that necessitates mining companies to process their mineral ore to be processed in the country.
The divestment process was completed on Friday increasing to 51.2 percent the share of the government represented by state-owned PT Inalum, the holding company for state-owned mining companies.
"The majority 51.2 percent of PT Freeport is now in the hands of PT Inalum and the price has been fully paid." President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said when announcing the final phase of the divestment process on Friday.
Jokowi described that day a historic moment after PT Freeport operates in Indonesia as from 1973.
Inalum has already held 9.36 percent share of Freeport and it had to pay US$3.85 billion to raise the stake to 51.2 percent.
Adkerson said the cooperation would have positive impact on both Indonesia and Freeport.
"I thank the government of Indonesia and will seek to meet the request of the President and now we could resume business with legal and fiscal certainty until 2041," he said.
He said Freeport will start open mining and will invest US$20 billion in the Grasberg copper and gold mine until 2041, the end of Freeport contract in Papua.
The government granted 10 percentage point of Inalum`s share in PT Freeport Indonesia to Papua provincial administration.
Reporting by Bayu Prasetyo
Editing by Fardah Assegaf
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
