58 Years of Freeport-McMoRan's Garsberg Mine in West Papua

Violent dispersal and shootings from the Indonesian police (POLRI) faced students and activists staging a protest in Nabire during the 58th year of Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Grasberg mine's agreement of Contract of Work with the Indonesian government, granting them exclusive mining rights in Central Papua. At least four were identified arrested, including three youth and students, in the Nabire protest as of April 7.

During the 58 years of control of FCX and Grasberg mine in West Papua, not a single profit has succeeded in providing a significant impact on the Papuan peoples as the owners of the country and the land of Amungsa, said the Forum Independen Mahasiswa - West Papua/ Student Independent Forum (FIM WP) who is leading the Nabire protest.

The Garsberg mine, operated locally by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), is one of the world's largest mining operations, known for its substantial gold and copper reserves, and is considered the largest gold mine and the third-largest copper mine globally. The mining company extracts minerals from the indigenous Amungsa/ Amungme/ Amung peoples' (around 17,700 population) territories in the highlands of Central Papua's Mimika and Puncak regions.

Since the mine's development began in 1967, the Amungme and the neighboring Kamoro people have experienced significant disruptions to their traditional life and felt the impact of environmental degradation, deforestation, and river pollution. It destroyed their indigenous order and ways of life, leading to systematic extermination or ethnocide due to consuming food that had been contaminated with toxic mining waste.

In 2023, PTFI produced approximately 1.65 billion pounds (about 748,000 metric tons) of copper and 1.97 million ounces of gold. PTFI 2023 net profit was reported at USD 3.16 billion, contributing to around USD 7.5 billion to Indonesian state revenue.

But Mimika and Puncak regencies are among the poorest in Indonesia. Puncak Regency has a poverty rate of 36.96% (2020), higher than the national average of 9.78% at that time. ​Mimika Regency reported that 28,000 out of 45,000 families (2007) were classified as poor, suggesting a poverty rate exceeding 60% at that time.

In 2017, PTFI terminated approximately 8,300 employees following a strike opposing planned layoffs for efficiency reasons. This action led to the deactivation of their BPJS Kesehatan (Health Social Security) memberships, as Freeport ceased paying the required premiums.

By May 2023, reports indicated that at least 115 of these former employees had died, with many unable to afford necessary medical treatments due to the loss of health insurance coverage. ​

In 2019, ex-President Jokowi promised to mediate between the workers and Freeport's management but no substantial resolution had been achieved since May 2023. No justice and reinstatement of their rights have been received by the laid-off workers.

The Merdeka West Papua Support Network calls on the international community to stand with the West Papuan peoples' fight against the exploitation of their land, territories, and resources.

We echo the FIM WP call for Papuans and Indonesian people to unite in solidarity to end the violent conflict and the plundering of natural resources. The 58 years of Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Grasberg mine's, and PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) extractivism in West Papua is the brazen face of 58 years of colonial and imperialist exploitation by the imperialist US and colonial Indonesian government.

The militarization and human rights violations, forced displacement, poverty, and erosion of people's cultural identity stem from these perpetuating oppression and resource extraction, such as mining and plantations in West Papua and other Indigenous communities. Similarly, these fuels greater aspiration for West Papuans to realize a self-determined, unexploited, and liberated future asserting their right to self-determination and land.#