25mm Copper Strip currently retails around $100/kilo.

Mining and shipping operations at the giant mine are reported near a standstill since the start of the protest on Wednesday. The striking miners want higher wages, better working conditions, and a look at some form of pension plan.

Grasberg Mines produces over a half-million tonnes of copper annually is Indonesia’s biggest taxpayer.   The crisis pushed the price of gold over $8,000 per ton on the London market.

Timika has one hotel - a Sheraton.

A group of protesters, said to number in the hundreds, remain outside the Freeport office in the town of Timika,  about   a two hour drive from the mine. There has been no official word on negotiations.