Indonesia to approve 70 mining contracts<\/p>\n
TOKYO (Reuter): Indonesia is expected to grant final approval
\nlater this month to 70 applications from foreign firms and joint
\nventures for Contracts of Work (CoWs) to explore and develop
\nmineral deposits, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Indonesia's Director
\nGeneral of Mines, said yesterday.<\/p>\n
He told a seminar organized by the Metal Mining Agency of
\nJapan that the applicants for the so-called sixth generation of
\nCoWs included Canada's Bre-X Minerals Ltd, whose massive Busang
\ndeposit on Kalimantan is estimated to hold 46 million ounces or
\nmore of gold reserves.<\/p>\n
\"The sixth generation will be signed by the President by the
\nend of this month,\" Kuntoro told the seminar.<\/p>\n
He added that he hoped the seventh generation of CoWs, issued
\ntwo months ago, would get final approval by January.<\/p>\n
He said the seventh generation CoWs were similar to the sixth,
\nalthough they provide for more stringent monitoring and control
\nof the contractor's performance while allowing more flexibility
\non the time frame for exploration.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro also noted that Bre-X's find had sparked a rush of
\napplications for CoWs on Kalimantan, which accounted for 132 out
\nof 186 seventh generation CoW applications compared with 28 out
\nof 70 in the sixth generation.<\/p>\n
He said that there were at present about 300 CoW applications
\nin the pipeline, both for mineral and coal exploration.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-to-approve-70-mining-contracts-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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