PT Newmont regrets court closure order<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, a unit of American
\ngold mining company Newmont Mining Corp., regretted on Monday the
\ninjunction issued by a district court in North Sulawesi to
\ntemporarily suspend its operations as long as its dispute with
\nthe Minahasa regency remained in the courtroom.<\/p>\n
\"We are absolutely appalled by the court's decision,\" company
\npresident Rick Ness said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\"At a time when Indonesia's international credibility is under
\nintense scrutiny, that a court would issue an order against a
\nforeign company investor clearly outside of any reasonable
\ninterpretation of the law is simply mind-boggling. Obviously,
\nthere are other considerations at work in this case,\" Ness added,
\ndescribing the court's decision as \"spurious.\"<\/p>\n
The Tondano court issued a temporary ruling on Saturday to bar
\nthe company from pursuing its mining activities in Ratatok,
\nMinahasa, until the court completed the hearing of the suit filed
\nby the Minahasa regency against the company.<\/p>\n
Regent Dolfie Tanor filed the suit last year in local court
\nagainst Newmont for the latter's refusal to pay C-class taxes to
\nthe regency administration.<\/p>\n
The C-class tax is levied for the exploitation of industrial
\nminerals and building materials, which are in the C category
\naccording to the country's mining law.<\/p>\n
The building materials and industrial minerals include stone,
\ngravel, sand, kaolin and zeolite.<\/p>\n
Under the existing law, the right to license the development
\nof the commodities lies with the local administration and tax
\nproceeds go to the local administrations.<\/p>\n
The regency argued that Newmont had violated the law by
\nrefusing to pay the C-class taxes.<\/p>\n
Newmont admitted that it extracted the C-class mining
\nmaterials, but it did so to enable it to access the gold ore
\nunderground. The removed top soil is termed \"overburden\" in the
\nmining industry.<\/p>\n
The company said it by no means used or sold the overburden
\nfor commercial purposes. As such, it is not obliged to pay taxes
\non them.<\/p>\n
Ness noted the Minister of Mines and Energy in a letter dated
\nDec. 17, 1999, to Minister of Home Affairs Surjadi Soedirdja
\nconfirming that Newmont's position was correct.<\/p>\n
Ness warned that the court's temporary ruling would have an
\nimpact on the local economy as thousands of workers would lose
\ntheir jobs if the court's temporary ruling was approved by the
\nhigher court.<\/p>\n
He said Newmont would vigorously pursue all legal efforts to
\nprevent the provisional ruling from taking effect.<\/p>\n
He said his company appealed the ruling, noting that the
\nruling could not take effect if it was not approved by the higher
\ncourt.<\/p>\n
\"We'll go the Supreme Court if we have to,\" Ness said. \"This
\ndecision is clearly without legal basis, erodes the rule of law
\nand will constitute another blow to international confidence in
\nIndonesia.\"<\/p>\n
Newmont Minahasa Raya is 80 percent owned by Denver-based
\nNewmont Mining Corporation and 20 percent owned by Tanjung
\nSarapung and local businessman Yusuf Merukh. (jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pt-newmont-regrets-court-closure-order-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}