Mining industry representatives said on Friday they were confused by a recently issued regulation restricting the work contractors were allowed to perform for mining concessionaires, saying it failed to clearly explain what contractors could and could not do.<\/p>\n
Industry representatives said that Article 10 of the Sept. 30 regulation, which provides that \u201cthe holder of a mining concession or special mining concession must itself perform mining, processing, and refining work,\u201d was particularly problematic, as much of this work was currently carried out by contractors.<\/p>\n
The regulation could cause problems for multinational contractors like PT Thiess Indonesia, a unit of Brisbane-based Thiess, which is employed as a mining contractor by PT Bumi Resources, Asia\u2019s biggest thermal coal producer. Article 5 also provides that contracting work must be given to domestic companies for a first right of refusal before foreign companies could be involved.<\/p>\n
A Thiess representative was not available for comment.<\/p>\n
One analyst said that if the regulation was implemented to the letter, many contractors and concessionaires would find themselves in trouble, as they would have to radically reorganize their operations.<\/p>\n
Sara K Loebis, corporate secretary of PT United Tractors, the country\u2019s largest supplier of heavy equipment, said her company was also confused by the regulation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re unsure about the difference between \u2018stripping,\u2019 which the regulation allows us to do, and mining, which we are prohibited from doing, as it\u2019s frequently very difficult to differentiate between the two,\u201d she said. \u201cOur legal team is currently studying the regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n
United Tractors is the parent of PT Pamapersada Nusantara, the country\u2019s biggest mining contractor.<\/p>\n
Alwinsyah Loebis, president director of PT Aneka Tambang, the state-owned gold and copper miner, said that his company\u2019s legal department was also studying the regulation.<\/p>\n
Dileep Srivastava, senior vice president of Bumi Resources, the country\u2019s biggest coal producer and one of the Pamapersada\u2019s main employers, said he was not aware of the regulation and would have to study it first before commenting.<\/p>\n
When asked for clarification about whether mining contractors could continue to perform main mining work, Bambang Setiawan, the director general of coal, minerals and geothermal energy, gave an inconclusive response.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not saying they can. As long as they follow all of the requirements in Article 10. What is the process of mining? It\u2019s digging, stripping, blasting and transporting. I think that\u2019s all clear enough. What more do they want?\u201d<\/p>\n
Edwin Sinaga, president director of brokerage PT Finacorporindo Nusa, said the new regulation was intended to prevent small, local government-issued concessions from being sold to contractors, which was already a widespread practice here.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mining-regulation-generates-confusion-in-indonesia-1255741310", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }