A joint venture headed up by engineering firm Fluor has been contracted to build and install a grinding mill at the PT Freeport Indonesia’s Grasberg copper and gold complex in Papua, Indonesia.

Fluor will work in tandem with Petrosea, under the title the Fluor Petrosea Joint Organisation (FPJO), for the addition of the new mill at the site in the Grasberg copper and gold mining district. Grasberg is currently undergoing a transition in mining from open-pit to underground.

Specifically, FPJO will construct a third semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill adjacent to existing milling facilities as underground production continues to ramp up at the Deep Mill Level Zone and Grasberg Block Cave mines following completion of mining in the open pit in 2019. 

Fluor noted that, with the additional SAG mill, daily milling capacity will be approximately 240,000 tonnes.

Construction is scheduled to commence later this year and be completed in 2023. Fluor booked its undisclosed portion of the contract in the third quarter of 2021.

“Fluor has built several expansions at Grasberg as well as other major projects in Indonesia since the 1980s,” said Tony Morgan, president of Fluor’s Mining & Metals business, of its history with the operation in the highlands of the Sudirman Mountain Range on the western half of the island of New Guinea. 

“We value the trust we have earned over the decades with the Freeport team and are proud to expand our global footprint in the industry as a solutions provider for the global copper demand.”

Fluor’s Perth, Australia office will lead the project with support from Fluor’s offices in Jakarta and Vancouver.

Source: Fluor