Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) has confirmed that all seven workers who went missing at its Grasberg copper and gold mine in eastern Indonesia have been found dead, following a devastating mudslide that struck the site last month and forced a suspension of operations.
The final five victims were discovered on Sunday, concluding a weeks-long recovery effort after an estimated 800,000 tonnes of wet material swept through the mine in early September. One of the victims has been identified as Victor Bastida Ballesteros, a Chilean national, while the remaining bodies are undergoing formal identification.
“We are grieving for our seven coworkers lost in this tragic incident and extend our deepest condolences to their families,” said Freeport chairman Richard C. Adkerson and president and CEO Kathleen Quirk in a joint statement. “We are profoundly grateful to our emergency response teams for their tireless efforts under extremely difficult conditions.”
Located in Papua province, Grasberg is the world’s second-largest copper mine and the cornerstone of Freeport’s Indonesian operations, contributing about half of the company’s reserves and roughly 70% of projected copper and gold output through 2029.
Operations at Grasberg remain suspended, with Freeport declaring force majeure on its Indonesian shipments and revising its production outlook downward. Copper output in the fourth quarter is expected to be “insignificant,” while sales guidance for 2026 has been reduced by 35%. The company anticipates full operational recovery by 2027, with limited production from unaffected zones possibly resuming later this year.
Global Supply Impact
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) estimates that the disruption at Grasberg will result in a cumulative production loss of nearly 600,000 tonnes of contained copper between September 2024 and the end of 2026 — roughly equivalent to the annual output of Chile’s Collahuasi mine, the world’s third-largest.
The Grasberg incident compounds existing supply constraints across the global copper industry. In July, five fatalities at Chile’s El Teniente mine led to a temporary shutdown, while Hudbay Minerals suspended operations at its Constancia site in Peru in September due to political unrest.
As supply concerns deepen, copper prices have surged toward record highs, driven by tightening inventories, easing U.S. monetary policy, and a weaker dollar.
Freeport-McMoRan said it is fully cooperating with Indonesian authorities in investigating the cause of the mudslide, describing the event as “unprecedented” in the mine’s history.
The Grasberg mine remains closed pending further safety and structural assessments.
