The Grasberg copper mine will be completely underground by 2022.

SMM: Tony Wenas, CEO of Indonesian free port company (Freeport Indonesia), the operator of Grasberg, the world's second largest copper mine, said on Sunday that it is expected to be fully underground by 2022.

"about 75 per cent of our operations will go underground by 2021 and reach 100 per cent by 2022," Tony Wenas said.

Wenas said that Freeport had returned to normal production levels and would produce 110000 tons of ore per day in 2020. He said that production will increase to 160000 tons per day in 2021 and is expected to further increase to 200000 tons per day in 2022, when the company will complete the transition to underground mining.

Last month Freeport had to cut its workforce at the Grasberg mine after four workers died of the new crown virus.

Wenas said Freeport had developed a virus detection device and found that 60 per cent of infected workers had recovered.

The Grasberg mine produced 272200 tons of copper in 2019.

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