Denver — An Indonesian court has ruled that P.T. Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI), the principal mining arm of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX-N), issued misleading statements about an accident in May 2000 that killed four people at the Grasberg copper-gold mine in Irian Jaya, Indonesia.
The lawsuit was filed in a South Jakarta court by Walhi, an Indonesian environmental group.
A verbal ruling from the court agreed that PT-FI’s statements concerning the accident were misleading. The court, however, did not believe PT-FI should make a public apology for those statements. No damages were awarded to Walhi.
A written ruling is expected shortly. PT-FI plans to appeal the decision.
On the evening of May 4, after several days of heavy rain, movement within an overburden stockpile sent a wall of water and rock over the spillway and down the Wanagon valley. Four contract employees were unaccounted for and presumed dead. The wave of material swept downstream many miles. No other injuries were reported.
In the wake of the accident, PT-FI suspended loading on the overburden pile, which nominally hurt mine production.
The company spent the next several months stabilizing the area. Full production resumed in January.
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