Freeport-McMoRan Helps Discover a New Plant Species in Papua

PT Freeport Indonesia, in partnership with Institut Pertanian Bogor University, Papua University, The West Papua Province Research & Development Center, and British Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, discovered a new plants species.

The new plant species has been discovered in the operations area of mining company PT Freeport Indonesia, in Mimika Regency, Papua. This discovery of a plant endemic to Papua adds to the wealth of biodiversity in Indonesia.

The plant has been given the name Diplycosia puradyatmikai Mustaqim, Utteridge and Heatubun sp nov. Diplycosia puradyatmikai grows as a bush with brown branches and round, green leaves, and is covered with fine hairs. This species can grow in habitats at elevations of 2,700 to 2,800 meters above sea level.

The discovery was published on 11 May 2020 in the international journal Phytotaxa.

Diplycosia puradyatmikai is the 29th discovery of flora made by PTFI over the past 23 years.

To learn more about how Freeport-McMoRan cares for biodiversity in the communities in which it operates, please visit www.fcx.com/sustainability.

See the 2019 Annual Report on Sustainability for more information on their social, economic and environmental efforts.