RI may become Asia's largest gold producer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Director General of Mining of the Ministry of
\nMines and Energy Adjat Sudradjat said yesterday that Indonesia
\nhas the potential to become Asia's largest gold producer.<\/p>\n
In his inaugural speech as a professor at Bandung's University
\nof Padjadjaran, Adjat based his optimistic outlook on Indonesia's
\nrich gold resources, political stability and favorable mining
\npolicy.<\/p>\n
Adjat said the latest volcanological studies indicated that
\nthe making of volcanoes could simultaneously create mineral
\nresources within the volcanic areas.<\/p>\n
Based on such a view, Indonesia, which is home to at least 129
\nactive volcanoes and 500 dormant ones, could be quite rich in
\ngold reserves, he said.<\/p>\n
According to the World Gold Council's latest data, Indonesia
\nproduces 70 tons of gold per year, below China's yearly output of
\n100 tons.<\/p>\n
Adjat said experts speculated that gold resources could be
\nnewly discovered soon in 15 volcanic arcs, but thus far studies
\nonly found mineral resources in seven of them.<\/p>\n
The seven potentially gold-rich volcanic arcs include the
\nSunda-Banda arc (4,000 km), the Sumatra-Meratus arc (3,000 km),
\nthe Central Kalimantan arc (1,500 km), the North Sulawesi arc
\n(1,500 km), the Irian Jaya arc (1,200 km).<\/p>\n
\"Thus, the total area which have potential (mineral resources)
\ncover between 600,000 to 1.5 million kilometers or 10 percent to
\n30 percent of Indonesia's total land territory,\" Adjat said.<\/p>\n
He said studies on Indonesia's 129 active volcanoes are
\nalready available for mining investors to locate minerals they
\nwant to explore.<\/p>\n
Adjat said investors could also start exploration on the base
\nof the systematic geologic map completed by the Indonesian
\nGovernment in 1996, which covered the entire territory of
\nIndonesia in a scale of 1:100,000 and 1:250,000. (jsk)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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