Accident at World’s Second-Biggest Copper Mine Crimps Supply (1)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s declaration of force majeure at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia — where two employees are dead and five missing after a massive mud flow — couldn’t have come at a worse time for the global copper market.

Demand for the metal, essential for electronics, has soared along with the clean-energy transition and the artificial intelligence boom. And yet, a combination of accidents and disruptions has struck mines from South America to Central Africa, straining supplies. Grasberg, on the mountainous island of New Guinea, is the world’s second-largest copper source, accounting for 3% of global output.

The Grasberg Copper and Gold mine in Papua, Indonesia on Sept. 11.

Source: 2025 Planet Labs PBC.

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