Guest Lecture : Underground Mining PT. Freeport Indonesia

On Friday (21/06) the Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Islamic University of Indonesia held a Guest Lecture by Aditya Wishnu Wijaya S.T, M.Sc, Chief Construction Engineer of PT. Freeport Indonesia. This guest lecture was held to support the Chemistry of Materials course and was open to other students. The event was held in the Auditorium FTI UII 3rd floor. The event was opened by Anisa Nur Aini as MC which was then continued with remarks by Dr. Taufiq Immawan, S.T., M.M. as Secretary of the Industrial Engineering Department of FTI UII.

Furthermore, the presentation of material by Aditya Wishnu Wijaya S.T, M.Sc related to the introduction of PT Freeport Indonesia, the material mining process, to the smelting process and refining.

In his presentation, PT. Freeport Indonesia mines 3 main materials, namely silver, gold, and copper which are the most abundant. Their Grasberg open-pit mine, known as the world’s largest, was closed and transitioned to underground mining around 2018-2019. It has 500 km of underground lines and there is an elevator with a height that beats the Eiffel tower in France.

He also explained that all tools used in underground operations are remotely controlled from the control room like playing a game to achieve zero fatality in productivity. In the smelting process, PT Freeport Indonesia has a patent to separate gold in liquid. Their copper mine produces copper cathode products.

After the speakers’ presentation, the MC invited the participants to ask questions. The number of participants who asked questions showed enthusiasm in attending the guest lecture by PT. Freeport Indonesia.

From the implementation of the Guest Lecture as a support for the Chemistry of Materials course, participants gained broader insights related to the world of mining. The event went smoothly without significant obstacles which were then closed by the MC.

Rani Novalentina