Inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia said the underground Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) mine operated by PT Freeport Indonesia is expected to resume limited operations by April 2026, following a destructive slurry-ore collapse in early September.

“At the affected point, the disaster site, our team is still conducting evaluations. We are targeting March or April next year for operations to restart,” he said on Friday (14/11/2025), emphasizing that safety remains the government’s top priority.

Minister Bahlil stressed that the ministry will not rush the investigation, which includes a root-cause analysis, a full mining audit, expert recommendations, and structural repairs. 

“This concerns lives. It’s not just business,” he said, as cited by antaranews.com.

Freeport-McMoRan confirmed a staged reopening: PB2 in the first half of 2026, followed by PB3 and PB1S later in the year, and PB1C in 2027. The collapse damaged key infrastructure and forced major production delays through 2026.

Two unaffected mines, DMLZ and Big Gossan, have restarted operations but not production. Once fully online, output will be absorbed by Freeport’s Gresik smelter.

(mg/inp/pr/rs)