trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/xqdty6ygqyjyme4rmvyejw2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Indonesia's Inalum secures funding to acquire Rio Tinto's Grasberg stake

Blog

Insight Weekly: US stock performance; banks' M&A risk; COVID-19 vaccine makers' earnings

Blog

Insight Weekly: LNG exports surge; investors unfazed by inflation; neobanks drive VC funding

Blog

Essential Metals Mining Insights November 2021

Blog

[Infographic]: 2021 World Exploration Trends


Indonesia's Inalum secures funding to acquire Rio Tinto's Grasberg stake

Indonesia's state-owned PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Persero), or Inalum, secured financing commitments for the acquisition of Rio Tinto's stake in the Grasberg copper-gold mine, The Australian Financial Review reported June 5.

The mining major recently confirmed that talks with Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and the Indonesian government were ongoing for the stake sale in Grasberg, which is in the Indonesian province of Papua.

Rio Tinto is entitled to 40% of Grasberg's copper production above specific levels until 2021 and 40% of all copper production after 2023. The company's exit from the mine depends on Freeport reaching a deal to transfer some of its stake in its PT Freeport Indonesia unit to Inalum.

Freeport in August 2017 agreed to divest a 51% interest in its local unit to extend Grasberg's operating permit beyond 2021.

Inalum's President Director, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, told reporters that a "significant milestone" has been reached in discussions between the parties in the form of financing commitments for executing the deal. The Indonesian government has been targeting to close the deal by the end of June.

Rio Tinto could fetch about US$3.5 billion for its stake in the giant Grasberg project, according to analysts' speculation.