PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) is in talks with the Indonesian government to secure an extension for its copper concentrate exports until its Manyar smelter resumes full operations, reported Reuters, citing a spokesperson for the miner.

The company was permitted to export copper concentrate until December 2024, considering the new smelter to start operations to process the mine output locally by then.

The negotiation comes as the company's new Manyar smelter is yet to return to full operations following a shutdown caused by a fire in October 2024.

Construction of the smelter was completed in June, with production planned to start in September, but it faced delays due to water and steam leakage during testing.

The Manyar smelter has an annual input capacity of 1.7 million tonnes of copper concentrate.

Currently, the facility is undergoing repairs, with operations expected to ramp up around mid-year, according to spokesperson Katri Krisnati.

Krisnati said: “This will certainly have an impact on our concentrate storage capacity both at the Amamapare port and at the PTFI smelter, which will be full going forward.

“We are currently discussing with the government to sell concentrate that should be refined at the PTFI smelter abroad until the smelter is fully operational.”

In September 2024, Indonesia’s former president Joko Widodo inaugurated two copper smelters, including the Manyar smelter, to bolster the country's position in the global mining market.

PT Amman Mineral International owns one of these smelters, a $1.4bn facility in West Nusa Tenggara Province, capable of processing 900,000 tonnes per annum of copper concentrate.

Indonesian energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia said that the government is now considering the company's request for an extension and will make a decision following a meeting with the current Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto.