The figure now stands at 2.48 billion tonnes grading 1.93% copper-equivalent, equivalent to 51.3 billion lbs. recoverable copper and 64.4 million oz. recoverable gold.
Freeport operates the Grasberg mine through its 85.9%-owned subsidiary, P.T.
Freeport Indonesia, whose share of the reserves amounts to 39.9 billion lbs.
copper and 51.8 million oz. gold. The remaining share belongs to
Rio Tinto, which funded much of the recent expansion, is entitled to a 40% interest in production over a throughput threshold of 118,000 tonnes per day. The mine is currently operating at more than 210,000 tonnes per day.
The additional reserves were outlined in the Grasberg open-pit and in the Kucing Liar and Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) deposits.
The company added nearly 100 million tonnes to the pit, boosting reserves there to 1.19 billion tonnes grading 1% copper plus 1.2 grams gold and 3 grams silver per tonne.
Freeport expanded Kucing Liar by nearly 100 million tonnes, to 320 million tonnes grading 1.4% copper, 1.4 grams gold and 5.3 grams silver.
At DOZ, reserves were likewise expanded by 100 tonnes. The zone now contains an estimated 181 million tonnes grading 1.15% copper, 0.87 gram gold and 5.2 grams silver.
Freeport reported another 1.28 billion tonnes of resources at Grasberg, grading 1.1% copper-equivalent.
Combined with a small gold resource in the company’s Block B contract-of-work area, the total mineral inventory stands at 3.87 billion tonnes grading 1.65% copper-equivalent. This translates as 66.5 billion lbs.
recoverable copper and 87 million oz. gold.
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