Freeport-McMoRan Confirms All 7 Missing Grasberg Workers Found Dead After Mud-Flow Disaster
Mining operations remain shut at the second-largest copper mine in the world.
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) said on Sunday that all seven workers who were missing since Sept. 8 after a mud-flow incident at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia have been found dead.
In an update, the copper miner revealed that it had located five more deceased workers following the mishap when a sudden rush of about 800,000 metric tons of wet material entered the mine from the former Grasberg open pit and traveled rapidly to multiple mine levels. The company had already discovered two bodies last month.
“We are committed to investigating the cause of the incident and to taking all steps necessary to prevent recurrence,” Chair Richard Adkerson and CEO Kathleen Quirk said in a joint statement.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about Freeport was in the ‘neutral’ territory at the time of writing.
Mining operations remain shut down at the Grasberg project, the world’s second-largest copper mine. Freeport expects a phased restart of operations at the project to begin in the fourth quarter.
The company said last month that for the third quarter of 2025, its consolidated sales are expected to be approximately 4% lower for copper and approximately 6% lower for gold than it estimated in July. Its output from Indonesian operations could potentially be approximately 35% lower than pre-incident estimates, it also stated.
On Sunday, Freeport did not provide any new update to its preliminary assessment from last month.
Last week, UBS analysts, after consulting with experts, noted that the risk of structural impairment to Grasberg’s production and value following the incident is low. The brokerage also noted that water challenges are relatively easier to solve at Grasberg, which is located up a mountain, compared to many other underground mines.
Freeport stock has gained nearly 4% this year.
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