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1) PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) is set to invest approximately $1 billion in constructing a 265-megawatt gas-fired combined cycle gas turbine power plant to replace coal units powering the Grasberg mine in Papua. The facility aims to operate by 2027 and will transition from coal to less-polluting liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an energy source, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Kathleen Quirk, President Director of Freeport-McMoRan, the majority owner of PTFI, estimates an increased economic cost of about $400 million for the project. This transition is part of broader efforts in Indonesia to shift to cleaner energy sources in the mining sector. The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry anticipates a need for 4.8 gigawatts of electricity in the next five years to power smelters, particularly nickel smelters in Sulawesi and Maluku, with LNG playing a vital role in doing so. This investment showcases the investment that an American mining company is putting into a foreign economy and Indonesia's broader energy transition.
Source: Freeport to build $1b gas-fired power plant to move away from coal - Companies - The Jakarta Post
2) Teck Resources, the owner of Canada's largest copper mine, Highland Valley Copper, is seeking to extend the mine's life by 18 years. The mine, located near Logan Lake in British Columbia, is set to close in 2028. This proposal is now open for public input, including online submissions from October 23 to November 22, as well as two open houses in Merritt and Logan Lake. The expansion plan involves extending the mining of two existing open pits, Highmont and Valley, and necessitates additional tailings storage, increased water use, landfill relocation, and realignment of roads and transmission lines. Teck estimates that this extension would yield around 4.3 billion pounds of copper from mining 900 million additional tons of ore. During the construction phase of the expansion, Teck anticipates employing an average of 500 workers, with a peak workforce of 1,250. Furthermore, the expansion is projected to create an additional 200 jobs at the mine, totaling 1,520 workers in the long term.