Freeport Starts Selling Gold to Antam
Jakarta, February 21, 2025 – PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) has commenced the sale of its processed gold to PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), marking a significant step in the country’s gold downstreaming efforts and a move towards reducing gold imports. This sale is part of a five-year cooperation agreement valued at $12.5 billion.
The collaboration between Freeport and Antam is a part of the Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID) synergy, aimed at refining gold domestically and decreasing reliance on imports.
According to Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir, Freeport’s purification facility has a production capacity of 50 tons of gold per year, with Antam set to absorb 30 tons.
“This collaboration provides great benefits to the national economy. Downstreaming is an option that cannot be compromised,” he said in the statement.
He added that this initiative aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s direction to implement strategic programs, including energy self-sufficiency and natural resource downstreaming.
Erick is optimistic that the downstreaming of the mining sector, especially gold, will strengthen Indonesia’s position in the global market and positively impact national economic growth.
Erick also noted, “Our gold reserves are the sixth largest in the world at around 2,600 metric tons, but for gold bar reserves, we are ranked 43rd in the world”.
He emphasized that this partnership allows Indonesia to process raw materials domestically, adding value to the national economy and bolstering economic resilience.
“Freeport produces 50 tons of gold, and Antam absorbs 30 tons. The impact is extraordinary because it can save foreign exchange reserves of up to hundreds of trillions in five years,” said Erick.
Antam’s President Director Nico Kanter explained that this synergy with PT Freeport Indonesia embodies the downstreaming of the gold industry in Indonesia.
“With this collaboration, of course, it will help Antam increase sourcing of gold raw materials from within the country. Gold from PT Freeport Indonesia will later be processed at our Processing and Refining Plant to be processed into Antam precious metal products,” he said.
Nico also mentioned that this collaboration will optimize the production of Antam’s precious metal gold products amidst high market demand.
Meanwhile, Tony Wenas, President Director of PTFI, clarified that the incident at one of PTFI’s Smelter complex facilities did not halt the company’s commitment to mining downstreaming.
He stated that the completion of PMR development and the production of pure gold prove PTFI’s seriousness in carrying out downstreaming.
“As a company that has integrated processing and refining domestically from upstream to downstream, PTFI has realized copper downstreaming and is currently downstreaming gold. In the near future, silver downstreaming will follow,” said Tony.
