INDONESIA'S GOLD INTEREST

INDONESIA will take a majority stake in one of the world's biggest gold and copper mine , the government said Thursday, as it moves to claw back control of its natural resources.

State owned mining firm Inalum is to assume a 51 percent interest in the Grasberg mine, under an agreement to be signed later in the day, President Joko Widodo said.

Indonesia currently holds just under 10 percent of the mine, which is owned and operated by a unit of US-based Freeport-McMoRan.

Freeport is expected to continue operating the vast complex in the Jungles of Papua province and keep the remaining ownership stake.

Widodo did not reveal financial details of the agreement, which he said came after "very difficult and intense"negotiations.

"This is a leap forward,"he told reporters. "It's a done deal, we just need to sign it."

The deal means more tax and royalties revenues for the government, he added.

Ministers were set to hold a news conference about the deal later in the day. The announcement comes after more than a year of see-saw negotiations over the future of Freeport's operations in the Southeast Asian nation.

The company and the Indonesia's government have sparred over the ownership of Grasberg and its social and environmental impact, including how the firm manages mine waste known as tailings.

The mine is a frequent flashpoint in Papua's struggle for independence from Indonesia and has fueled resentment over how much locals benefit from the region's rich resources.

Papua, on the  western half of New New Guniea island, has been the scene of simmering independence insurgency since it was annexed by Jakarta in the late 1960s.

Anglo-Australian  mining giant  Rio Tinto has a joint venture agreement with  Freeport for about  40  percent  of  Grasberg's production.