Reuters

Indonesia President Joko Widodo urged on Thursday for an “immediate” end to issues holding up the finalisation of the state’s plans to acquire a majority stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc’s Grasberg copper mine.

The deal, where Indonesia and state-owned miner PT Inalum will control a 51.23 percent stake in PT Freeport Indonesia, is expected to end years of wrangling over ownership rights to Grasberg, the world’s second-biggest copper mine.

But the planned series of transactions that total $3.85 billion is subject to Inalum pocketing a special permit for the mine, which requires clearance on environmental matters relating to its tailings disposal, and other regulatory issues.

Papua province, home to the Grasberg mine, also rejected the proposed ownership structure for the stake in which Papua would indirectly own 10 percent of Freeport’s local unit.

“I ask that all stages of the divestment process can be finished and final (and) we hope that before the end of 2018 everything is completed,” Widodo said in a meeting with Inalum, Papua Governor Lukas Enembe and other government officials linked to the Freeport deal.