Freeport-mcmoran said late Tuesday it had to cut its copper sales forecast for the first quarter of this year after flooding caused by heavy rains over the weekend shut down production at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia.
While there were no injuries, the mudslide damaged the Grasberg concentrate processing plant and part of the road leading to the mine, forcing the suspension of mining and mineral processing activities, and the mine is not expected to resume production before the end of the month, according to Freeport.
Mining activity is key to keeping global copper supplies stable, and the temporary shutdown at the Grasberg gold mine is the latest to disrupt stable production in the industry.