Freeport Signals $20 Billion Bet on Indonesia’s Critical Minerals

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Freeport-McMoRan has committed to invest about $20 billion in Indonesia over the next 20 years to expand its critical minerals operations, a move officials say will deepen strategic U.S.-Indonesia ties and boost state revenues.

The pledge followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. mining giant and the Indonesian government, represented by Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani, and is expected to be upgraded into a definitive agreement in the near term.

“An MoU was signed yesterday between Freeport and the Government of Indonesia, which we represented,” Rosan said at a virtual press conference on Friday, Feb 20, 2026.

“Over roughly the next 20 years, the value is about $20 billion. This will also provide a positive impact on tax revenues and other state income,” he added.

The planned investment comes as Jakarta pushes an ambitious downstream industrialization strategy aimed at extracting more value from its vast reserves of copper and other critical minerals, key inputs for electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and advanced electronics.

Freeport’s existing operations in the Grasberg district, one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines, already anchor Indonesia’s position in global supply chains, and the new capital commitment signals a longer-term expansion of processing and refining capacity.

The announcement followed the Indonesia–U.S. Business Summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Wednesday, Feb 18, 2026, where President Prabowo Subianto witnessed the signing of 11 memoranda of understanding worth $38.4 billion across mining, energy, agribusiness, textiles, furniture and technology.

The summit was organized by the Indonesian government and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council and the U.S.-Indonesia Society.

Beyond Freeport’s minerals deal, other agreements included cooperation between Pertamina and Halliburton on oilfield recovery and partnerships in corn, cotton, semiconductors and recycled apparel, underscoring the breadth of commercial engagement between the two countries.

For Jakarta, the $20 billion pledge strengthens its narrative that critical minerals development can serve as both an industrial lever and a diplomatic bridge, tying resource policy more closely to strategic economic alliances.