Freeport-McMoRan Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Freeport-McMoRan, or Freeport in the colloquial, refers to both the US company and its mine in Papua, Indonesia.Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of copper and gold. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange as FCX, and colloquialy known as 'Freeport'; its subsidiaries include PT Freeport Indonesia, PT Irja Eastern Minerals and Atlantic Copper, S.A.
Best known for its Grasberg mine in Papua, the company is the largest tax payer to the Indonesian government; mines and mills ore containing copper, gold and silver for the world market; and denies allegations of on-going human rights abuses and theft of native properties.
The company's wealth stems from a mining license agreement signed in 1967. At this time Indonesia did not have authority for such a license, and would be dependant upon the Papuan people voting against their own independence from Indonesia.
Given that Papuans are a Melanesian people, it seemed implausible that they would vote for a foreign nation of different race and religion to rule their country; especially because that same foreign nation was reported bombing Papuan villages and killing thosands of civilians. Yet, the vote organized and administed by the Indonesian military resulted in a unanimous vote for the Indonesian military to remain in Papua. Not one person in all of Papua voted for independence, according to Indonesian conduct of the vote (see Papua history, 'Act of Free Will').
The original license sold to the US company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., mining rights for 30 Km2 overing the Amungme tribal homeland. Being a sacred mountain, and negotiated without the permission of, disscussion with, or payment to the Amungme people this open cut mining operation has violated several native peoples rights and caused great upset. The company holds a 30 year exclusive mining license for the region from the official opening of the mine (1981). Locals made several violent attempts to dissuade the mine owners, including blowing up a pipeline in July, but order was quickly restored.
In 1989 the mining license was extended to an additional 25,000Km2.
In 2003 the company was forced to admit to it has been paying the local Indonesian military to keep the native landowners away from their lands; the company maintains claims of being a good global citizen and helping the Papuan people whose land they are mining. Eyewitness reports of abuses, and repeated statements from the local land owners for over twenty years that they wish the mine and the Indonesians to leave their lands seem incongrous with company statements. Though Freeport is only one of the foreign mining operations with questionable human and native rights records, it is the best known of these.
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