The complexity of the Grasberg Mine, from Weather to Security Disorders (Part 1)
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Along the Freeport Mine (Part 1)
The air is 7 degrees Celsius directly piercing the bone at an altitude of 4,200 meters above sea level (masl), the Grasberg mine, Papua. Meeting the production target of 3 million tons of concentrate per year faces a number of challenges, ranging from weather to security risks.
Ignasius Jonan
Luckily, the weather on Friday (3/5) morning was sunny. The delegation of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources led by Minister Ignasius Jonan headed for the Grasberg open pit mine.
Dwi Sutjipto
Participants in the group included SKK Migas Head Dwi Sutjipto, Freeport Indonesia President Director Tony Wenas, PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum Director (Inalum) Budi Gunadi Sadikin and five journalists, including KONTAN.
Budi Gunadi Sadikin
The group departed using Chopper Airfast, 06:00 East Indonesia Time (WIT) from Mozes Kalangi Airport, Papua. Chopper capacity can reach 10 people. There are three chopper flying to Tembagapura Helipad at an altitude of 2,500 masl.
Chopper Airfast
Less than 15 minutes, the chopper landed at Tembagapura Helipad. When using a bus to Tembagapura, the group must spend more than two hours because the distance from the airport to Tembagapura reaches 90 kilometers.
Tembagapura Helipad
Arriving in Tembagapura, which is the housing of Freeport employees and Freeport offices, the group must carry out pulse and blood pressure tests. If you pass, you can go to the tram, a kind of cable car to Grasberg. Freeport began operating the cable car facility in 1990, with a capacity of 100 people.
Freeport Tram
The cable car terminal built by the Swiss company is at an altitude of 2,836.25 masl. This cable car can reach heights of up to 4,000 masl. The Grasberg is at 4,200 meters above sea level with 7 degrees Celsius cold weather.
Freeport Tram
At that time the rain fell and the mist surrounded the mine. Fortunately there is a camp to warm the body. The Grasberg Mine has a very extreme location because it is located at an altitude of 4,200 masl with 3 million cubic meters of rainfall per year.
Riza Pratama
"There are only two weather conditions, heavy rain and rain. There are no mines in the world that have two weather conditions such as Grasberg," said Riza Pratama, Freeport Indonesia's Corporate Communication Vice President when accompanying ESDM Minister Ignasius Jonan's group to see the Grasberg mine site on Friday (4 / 5).
the Grasberg mine
Looking at the stretch of the Grasberg mine that was discovered since 1981, we will see a very gaping mine pit; wide and deep. Based on Freeport's records, the Grasberg pit is 1.3 km deep and 3.5 km in diameter.
Haul Trucks
If traversing a mine pit with road facilities using haul trucks, then the distance from the mineral rock extract below to the stockpile above can reach 25 km. While the haul muck travel time can reach 70 minutes to reach the stockpile.
Haul Trucks
The distance of one haul truck with another haul truck that is running must be as far as 50 meters so that no collision occurs. While there are 4,500 workers who are at an altitude of 4,200 meters above the Grasberg mine every day. The haul truck driver carrying mineral rocks from within the Grasberg mine must have a special license, even to maintain work safety the haul truck has an eye sensor in front of the driver.
Freeport Bus
If the driver is drowsy, the bench will snap and send a signal to the operational office. All workers in the haul truck were monitored from the operational room in Tembagapura.
shooting the freeport employee bus
In addition to the heavy terrain and frequent rain, Riza said, security disturbances are still a frightening terror, especially since the shooting action that killed Freeport employees when they came down from the mine site in 2002. In this incident, Freeport Indonesia now uses a super security level high or no compromise for work safety.
"We use bulletproof buses and are escorted," he said.
bulletproof bus inside
For small cars, passengers must wear a bulletproof jacket. Freeport Indonesia, whose 51.2% stake is now controlled by PT Inalum, will not reduce security standards for the safety of employees and guests.
"We certainly have to hire security officers for safety," Riza added.
Special Force
ESDM Minister Ignasius Jonan stated for the first time to the Grasberg mine.
"This mine is interesting, a complex mine," he said.
To that end, the government provides a period of extension of up to 20 years of operations to Freeport as an operator which is until 2041 so that the mine can later be managed by Indonesia.
Gold Bar
"We can work, we can understand techniques. There are not many foreigners. But maintaining consistency, operational safety and health work to maintain mine tunnels, cable cars or trams, the challenge is big," added Minister Jonan.
BUMN and Indonesian companies if asked to empower humans, of course they can. But for consistency, Indonesia still has to continue learning. Freeport Indonesia President Director Tony Wenas explained that so far referring to operational blue print, occupational health and work safety still use Freeport-McMoran (FCX) management based in the United States.
"We have transfer knowledge and regeneration here for the two positions," he said.
At present, the Grasberg mine will be closed because the minerals contained in it will run out. The mine will be closed gradually until the end of this year.
"We will enter the underground mine," Tony said.
Currently the production of underground mining is already operating, but it is not optimal because Freeport will continue to invest there because of the complexity of the mine. The investment value is very large, reaching US $ 16 billion.
To Be Continued.
IN INDONESIA
Menyusuri Tambang Freeport (Part 1)
Kerumitan Tambang Grasberg, dari Cuaca sampai Gangguan Keamanan
Udara bersuhu 7 derajat Celsius langsung menusuk tulang pada ketinggian 4.200 meter di atas permukaan laut (mdpl) tambang Grasberg, Papua. Pemenuhan target produksi 3 juta ton konsentrat per tahun menghadapi sejumlah tantangan, mulai dari cuaca hingga risiko keamanan.
Beruntung, cuaca pada Jumat (3/5) pagi itu cerah. Rombongan Kementerian Energi Sumber Daya dan Mineral yang dipimpin Menteri Ignasius Jonan menuju tambang open pit Grasberg. Peserta rombongan antara lain Kepala SKK Migas Dwi Sutjipto, Direktur Utama Freeport Indonesia Tony Wenas, Dirut PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) Budi Gunadi Sadikin serta lima jurnalis, termasuk KONTAN.
Rombongan berangkat menggunakan chopper Airfast, pukul 06:00 Waktu Indonesia Timur (WIT) dari Bandara Mozes Kalangi, Papua. Kapasitas chopper bisa mencapai 10 orang. Ada tiga chopper terbang menuju Helipad Tembagapura di ketinggian 2.500 mdpl.
Tidak sampai 15 menit, chopper mendarat di Helipad Tembagapura. Apabila menggunakan bus menuju Tembagapura, rombongan harus menghabiskan waktu lebih dari dua jam karena jarak dari bandara sampai Tembagapura mencapai 90 kilometer.
Sesampainya di Tembagapura, yang merupakan perumahan karyawan Freeport dan kantor Freeport, rombongan harus melakukan tes tekanan nadi dan tensi. Jika lolos, bisa ikut menuju tram, semacam cable car menuju Grasberg. Freeport mulai mengoperasikan fasilitas kereta gantung itu tahun 1990, dengan kapasitas 100 orang.
Terminal cable car yang dibangun oleh perusahaan Swiss berada di ketinggian 2.836,25 mdpl. Cable car ini bisa menjangkau ketinggian hingga 4.000 mdpl. Adapun Grasberg berada di 4.200 mdpl dengan cuaca dingin 7 derajat Celsius.
Saat itu hujan turun kabut pun mengitari tambang. Untung saja ada camp untuk menghangatkan tubuh. Tambang Grasberg memiliki lokasi yang sangat ekstrem karena berada di ketinggian 4.200 mdpl dengan curah hujan 3 juta kubik
per tahun.
"Cuma ada dua cuaca, hujan dan hujan lebat. Tidak ada tambang di dunia yang memiliki dua cuaca seperti Grasberg," kata Riza Pratama, Vice President Corporate Communication Freeport Indonesia saat menemani rombongan Menteri ESDM Ignasius Jonan melihat lokasi tambang Grasberg, Jumat (4/5).
Memandang hamparan tambang Grasberg yang ditemukan sejak tahun 1981 itu, maka kita akan melihat lubang tambang menganga yang sangat; luas dan dalam. Berdasarkan catatan Freeport, lubang tambang Grasberg sedalam 1,3 km dengan diameter 3,5 km.
Jika menyusuri lubang tambang dengan fasilitas jalan menggunakan haul truck, maka jarak dari pengambilan batuan mineral di bawah hingga ke stockpile di atas bisa mencapai 25 km. Sedangkan waktu tempuh haul muck bisa mencapai 70 menit untuk menjangkau stockpile.
Jarak satu haul truck yang satu dengan haul truck lainnya yang sedang berjalan harus sejauh 50 meter agar tidak terjadi tabrakan. Sementara ada 4.500 pekerja yang setiap hari berada di ketinggian 4.200 mdpl tambang Grasberg.
Sopir haul truck yang mengangkut batuan mineral dari dalam tambang Grasberg harus memiliki lisensi khusus, bahkan untuk menjaga keselamatan kerja haul truck itu memiliki sensor mata di depan sopir.
Jika sang sopir mengantuk, bangku akan menghentak dan mengirim sinyal ke kantor operasional. Semua pekerja yang ada di dalam haul truck terpantau dari ruang operasional di Tembagapura.
Selain medan yang berat dan hujan yang sering terjadi, Riza mengatakan, gangguan keamanan masih menjadi teror yang menakutkan, terutama sejak adanya aksi penembakan yang menewaskan karyawan Freeport saat turun dari lokasi tambang pada tahun 2002.
Pada kejadian tersebut, Freeport Indonesia kini menggunakan tingkat keamanan super tinggi atau tidak ada lagi kompromi untuk keselamatan kerja.
"Kami menggunakan bus anti peluru dan dikawal," ujar dia.
Untuk mobil kecil, penumpang wajib memakai jaket anti peluru. Freeport Indonesia, yang 51,2% sahamnya kini dikuasai PT Inalum, tidak akan menurunkan standar keamanan demi keselamatan karyawan dan para tamu.
"Kami tentu harus menyewa petugas keamanan demi keselamatan," imbuh Riza.
Menteri ESDM Ignasius Jonan menyatakan baru pertama kali ke tambang Grasberg.
“Tambang ini menarik, tambang yang kompleks," ungkap dia.
Untuk itu, pemerintah memberikan masa perpanjangan operasi sampai 20 tahun kepada Freeport sebagai operator yaitu sampai 2041 agar tambang ini nantinya bisa dikelola oleh Indonesia.
"Kita ini bisa kerja, bisa pemahaman teknik. Orang asingnya juga tidak banyak. Tetapi menjaga konsistensi, operational safety dan kesehatan kerja menjaga terowongan tambang, kereta gantung atau tram, itu tantangannya besar," imbuh Menteri Jonan.
BUMN maupun perusahaan Indonesia jika diminta memberdayakan manusia, tentu bisa. Akan tetapi untuk konsistensi, Indonesia masih harus terus belajar. Direktur Utama Freeport Indonesia, Tony Wenas menjelaskan, sejauh ini mengacu blue print operasional, kesehatan kerja dan keselamatan kerja masih menggunakan manajemen Freeport-McMoran (FCX) yang berbasis di Amerika Serikat.
"Kami di sini ada transfer knowledge dan kaderisasi untuk dua jabatan itu," ujar dia.
Saat ini, tambang Grasberg akan ditutup lantaran mineral yang terkandung di dalamnya akan habis. Tambang akan ditutup secara bertahap sampai akhir tahun ini.
"Kami akan masuk ke tambang bawah tanah," ujar Tony.
Saat ini produksi tambang bawah tanah sudah beroperasi, namun belum maksimal karena Freeport masih akan terus berinvestasi di sana lantaran kerumitan tambang. Nilai investasinya sangat besar, yakni mencapai US$ 16 miliar.
Bersambung.
Kontan, Page-14, Tuesday, May 7, 2019
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