Freeport-McMoRan announced on September 23, 2025, that PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) located two team members who were fatally injured in the September 8 mud rush incident at the Grasberg Block Cave mine. Five team members remain missing, and extensive search efforts are ongoing.
The incident involved a sudden rush of approximately 800,000 metric tons of wet material, which entered the mine and traveled rapidly to multiple levels. Mining operations in the Grasberg minerals district have been temporarily suspended since September 8, leading to significant production impacts.
For the third quarter of 2025, FCX’s consolidated sales are expected to be approximately 4% lower for copper and 6% lower for gold than July 2025 estimates. The Grasberg Block Cave ore body accounts for 50% of PTFI’s proven and probable reserves and about 70% of its previously forecast copper and gold production through 2029.
Preliminary assessments indicate significant production deferrals for the near-term, specifically in the fourth quarter of 2025 and throughout 2026. PTFI's fourth-quarter 2025 sales of copper and gold are now expected to be insignificant, a sharp decline from previous estimates of 445 million pounds of copper and 345,000 ounces of gold.
In 2026, PTFI production could be approximately 35% lower than pre-incident estimates, which previously approximated 1.7 billion pounds of copper and 1.6 million ounces of gold. A return to pre-incident operating rates is not expected until 2027, with a phased restart of the GBC mine beginning in the first half of 2026.
PTFI has declared force majeure to its commercial counterparties and intends to seek recovery of damages under its property and business interruption insurance policies, which cover up to $1.0 billion in losses, subject to a $0.5 billion deductible. This incident has dramatically tightened the global copper supply outlook, causing copper prices to surge to 15-month highs of $10,485 a metric ton.
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