September 30, 2025 | 11:00 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian state miner Aneka Tambang (Antam) confirms its commitment to absorb the gold production from state miner Freeport Indonesia to reduce the nation's reliance on gold imports.
According to Antam President Director Achmad Ardianto, this initiative has been in progress since Freeport began producing pure gold from its new smelter in Gresik, East Java, in April 2025.
"The pure gold product from Freeport only came out this year after its smelter began operations. Since April 2025, Antam has been collaborating with Freeport under the coordination of Mind ID to absorb its production," Achmad said during a joint meeting with the House of Representatives' Commission VI on Monday, September 29, 2025.
Economic and National Benefits
Prior to the smelter's completion, Freeport only exported concentrate, including black sand containing copper, gold, and silver. Now, all concentrates are processed domestically in Gresik, yielding pure gold.
"All concentrates are now processed in Gresik. Therefore, Freeport's gold can be directly absorbed by Antam. This is a significant achievement because it fulfills what has been pursued together with the government and the House of Representatives," Achmad stated.
Freeport is expected to produce around 9 tons of pure gold by the end of 2025. Antam has already signed a contract to absorb 25 to 30 tons annually.
"Antam currently takes all of Freeport's gold. Despite its phased production, this collaboration significantly helps reduce imports," he added.
Addressing the Supply Gap
Achmad noted the national gold potential is large, with major domestic and international mining companies producing about 90 tons per year, a figure that would be higher if small-scale mines were included. The new Freeport smelter will help better utilize this potential, aiming to satisfy domestic gold demand with national production rather than imports.
Antam's gold sales are rising, from 37 tons in 2024 to 43 tons in 2025, with a target of 45 tons in 2026. However, Antam's own mine production is only about 1 ton per year.
To cover this shortfall, Antam relies on three sources: buyback from the public, purchases from other mines that refine gold at Antam's facilities, and imports.
Achmad explained that domestic supply from other mines is often limited due to regulatory and business hurdles; some mining companies find it more flexible to export their gold, often bundled with silver, due to tax factors.
Despite the Freeport deal, Antam still needs to import around 30 tons of gold per year from official London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) affiliates in Singapore and Australia to meet public demand. Achmad stressed that Antam itself never exports gold, only other Indonesian mining companies do, and that its imports are purely to meet domestic needs with strict quality standards.
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