All missing workers found dead at Freeport’s Grasberg mine

[Ben Graham]

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) has recovered the bodies of all seven workers who went missing at the Grasberg copper mine in eastern Indonesia, following a mudslide last month that halted production at the site.

The last five miners were found on Sunday, concluding a weeks-long search effort after 800,000 tonnes of wet material swept through the site in early September.

Grasberg is the second-largest copper mine in the world and a critical asset for Freeport’s Indonesian operations. One of the identified victims was Victor Bastida Ballesteros, a Chilean national. The remaining victims are undergoing formal identification.

“We are grieving for our seven coworkers lost in this tragic incident and extend our sincere condolences to the families who lost loved ones,” chairman Richard C. Adkerson and president and chief executive officer Kathleen Quirk said in a statement. “We appreciate the extraordinary efforts of the emergency response team who worked tirelessly to locate our coworkers”. 

Grasberg accounts for half of Freeport Indonesia’s reserves and is expected to provide about 70% of its copper and gold output through 2029. The company expects full operations to resume by 2027, with some unaffected areas possibly restarting later this year.

Freeport has declared force majeure on its Indonesian shipments and cut production guidance for both this year and next. Copper output in the fourth quarter will be “insignificant,” and sales guidance for 2026 is down 35%.

Global supply squeezed

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) estimates the cumulative loss between September 8 and the end of 2026 will reach nearly 600,000 tonnes of contained copper. This us roughly equal to the forecast 2026 output at Chile’s Collahuasi mine, the world’s third-largest.

Copper price retreats despite Grasberg supply worries

The Grasberg disruption adds to mounting global supply pressures. In July, five workers died at Chile’s El Teniente mine, prompting a week-long shutdown. n September, Hudbay Minerals suspended operations at a mill at its Constancia site in Peru due to political unrest.

Copper prices are now approaching record highs, driven by tightening supply, looser US monetary policy, and a weaker dollar. Freeport says it is cooperating with the Indonesian government to investigate the incident, which it called unprecedented. The mine remains shut.