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Reclamation

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III. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

RECLAMATION AND REVEGETATION

PT Freeport Indonesia is committed to reclaiming or revegetating disturbed land when it is no longer used for our operations. We have conducted comprehensive reclamation studies and programs for many years in both the highlands and the lowlands areas to provide sound, scientific data to guide our management decisions as to the best techniques and plant species to maximize success of these programs.

Highlands

The highland ecosystem is shaped by environmental extremes that include very low nocturnal temperatures, high solar radiation during the day but with short periods of photosynthesis, heavy fog, high rainfalls and poor soils. Plants growing there are highly specialized, having evolved to survive in these harsh conditions. International scientific experts and PT Freeport Indonesia staff have studied the ecology of the alpine ecosystem in our work area and have developed methods to reliably produce planting stock for native species. Studies undertaken to date include: ethno-botany, biodiversity of the sub-alpine and alpine ecosystems, the use of moss for pioneering reclamation strategies, and tissue culture for propagating native alpine plants. Although final closure of the overburden areas is decades away, we are committed to reclaim areas of overburden each year as they become available, monitoring the performance of various planting techniques and modifying programs to enhance their long-term success.

Through year-end 2003, more than 56 hectares of disturbed land at the mine have been revegetated to comply with PT Freeport Indonesia's commitment to the Government of Indonesia. Most of the disturbed areas in the highlands remain in active use and therefore are not yet available for revegetation. In 2003, some 9.5 hectares were revegetated.

The intensive studies in the past have identified the types of native highlands plant species that do well in reclamation, while current research is designed to learn how to help improve survival of these species in the harsh conditions. Therefore, highlands reclamation in 2003 focused on the implementation of recommendations from previous studies. Native bacteria were used to enhance moss establishment at the final placement areas of overburden. Tissue culture techniques and conventional cutting methods were used to develop large-scale propagation that successfully resulted in a 78 percent survival rate of 22,000 propagated plants, comprising three species of native alpine plants.

Figure 6. Reclamation testing shows success for many species on soils containing tailings; overburden testing, utilizing only native species, is more difficult due to high altitude conditions, but successes continue to increase.

Lowlands

In the lowlands, reclamation research has repeatedly demonstrated that native species successfully colonize naturally and grow on soils containing tailings. Soils containing tailings are very suitable for growing many agricultural crops when the soils are ameliorated with organic carbon. The objective of PT Freeport Indonesia's reclamation and revegetation program in the lowlands is to transform the tailings deposits in the Modified Ajkwa Deposition Area into agricultural or other productive land use or to return it to native vegetation after mining is completed.

Cumulatively through the end of 2003, 142 plant species have been planted experimentally on soils containing tailings and 125 of these were considered successful. Some plant species that were successfully tested to date include legume cover crops for fodder; local trees such as Casuarina, betel nut and matoa; cash crops plants such as pineapple, melon, and banana; and, vegetables and grains such as chili peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, rice, string beans and pumpkins.

Harvests of edible plants and fruit from many of these species were conducted in 2003. A total of 321 samples from 51 edible plants and fruit were collected during 2003 for metals-uptake analysis. PT Freeport Indonesia's comprehensive sampling program monitors environmental conditions in the tailings deposition area and rigorous testing performed on these edible plants and fruits continues to indicate that metals uptake from the minerals naturally contained in the tailings is minimal and levels remain safely below the maximum allowable levels stipulated in national and international standards for all plants.

PT Freeport Indonesia exceeded its commitment to the Government of Indonesia to reclaim 375 hectares of tailings deposition area by the end of 2003, when 473 hectares were planted. Some 16,000 trees were planted in 2003 in the tailings deposition area, consisting primarily of Casuarina (15,000 trees) and matoa (1,000 trees). Monitoring of the growth of these trees continues to indicate excellent progress.

An animal husbandry program has been developed in the lowlands to demonstrate that cattle can be safely raised and grazed on deposited tailings. This project was established in cooperation with the local government to monitor cattle health. Legumes have been planted along with sago and Casuarina. The legumes are nitrogen-fixers that add nutrients to the soils containing tailings. They are harvested as feed for the cattle and the cattle's manure provides further soil enrichment.

In addition to the production of commercial crops, another strategy of tailings reclamation is to encourage natural ecological succession (the natural regrowth of native species) in designated areas. Natural succession occurs quickly in many areas of the deposition area, led by Phragmites karka grass. The Phragmites grass produces detrital biomass which enrichens soils containing tailings. This process improves water retention capacity of the soils so that other species can propagate. An independent research project, completed in late 2002 on natural succession of vegetation on tailings in an area outside the current deposition area, but which previously received tailings, found that, in a period of only a few years, 264 plant species have naturally colonized and are growing well. This aspect of tailings reclamation has been observed and studied by PT Freeport Indonesia for years, but the formal confirmation and documentation of this process by independent scientists is significant.

The Ajkwa estuary receives a portion of tailings, which pass through the Modified Ajkwa Deposition Area. Some of the newly-formed lands from these sediments have been naturally colonized by mangroves. Within the past several years, six mangrove species, 30 species of crabs and shrimps, four species of snails and several species of fish and marine polychaetes (worms) were identified in the mangrove colonization areas. To accelerate the primary succession process in these newly formed lands, PT Freeport Indonesia initiated an assisted mangrove colonization program in April 2002. A total of 75,000 mangrove seedlings were planted in 2003 on 30 hectares, utilizing contractors from the Kamoro people, the traditional lowlands inhabitants. Monitoring of the survival rate of mangrove seedlings that were planted showed that the planted seedlings growth and survival rates are similar to rates reported for other assisted colonization programs from around the world described in scientific literature.

Pineapples are among the dozens of plants and cash crops that grow successfully on tailings. Locally hired reclamation employees apply traditional knowledge of plants and animals as part of the sustainable agricultural program.