Overview -
The Grasberg copper and gold mine is located in Tembagapura, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. It has the world's largest known gold reserve and one of the largest copper reserves. The mine was discovered in 1988.
Grasberg is located 96 km north of the southwest coast of Indonesia at elevations of 2,500 to 4,200 m above sea level.
There is an open pit mine, an underground mine, and four concentrators. The open pit mine is a high volume low cost operation. The open pit mine is now nearly a mile across at the surface, in the side of Grasberg mountain. Production is 200,000 to 240,000 tpd.
The mine is located on Block A, a CoW covering 10,000 ha (24,700 acres). Lembah Tembaga, Kucing Liar, Big Gossan, DOM, IOZ, DOZ, Ertsberg, and Ertsberg East are individual deposits.
About 18,000 people work at the mine. PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold, is the operator.
Open pit production in 2006 was 67.2 Mt of ore and provided 76% of mill feed. The open pit mine is expected to cease operation in 2015 or 2016. The underground operation is expected to run past 2027.
The mill complex includes several mills, crushing and screening operations, concentrators, thickeners, and a pump station.
1.8 million dry metric tons of concentrate containing copper, gold and silver were loaded and shipped in 2004 from the port of Amamapare to smelters around the world.
The total economic benefit of the Grasberg mine to Indonesia and Irian Jaya was $3 billion in 2004 alone and $33 billion from 1992-2004, accounting for almost 2% of the whole gross domestic product of Indonesia, and more than 55% of the gross domestic product of Irian Jaya.
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