6 mining firms can resume operations in forest areas

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives and the Ministry of Forestry have, in principle, agreed to allow six mining companies to resume their operations in forest areas, a senior official at the ministry said.

Head of the forestry planning agency at the ministry Bambang Trimulya said over the weekend that the six firms had passed the screening process jointly carried out by the ministry and House Commission III on forestry affairs.

"We have, in essence, permitted the six companies to resume operations," he told The Jakarta Post.

The six mining companies are: PT Weda Bay Nikel and PT Nusa Halmahera (both located in Maluku province), PT Gag Nikel (Papua), PT Galuh Cempaka (South Kalimantan), PT Jorong Barutama (Papua) and PT Barisan Tropical Mining (South Sumatra).

The six mining firms are just some of the 22 mining companies proposed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to be allowed to resume their operations.

A forestry law issued in 1999, which banned open-cast mining in protected forests has affected the operations of many mining companies, as their mining sites were later designated as protected forest areas. The mining companies, which had invested a lot of money, subsequently protested the decisions as they went against the mining contracts they had signed with the government.

In a bid to promote economic growth in the eastern part of Indonesia, the location of most of the 22 mining firms, and after months of debate within the Cabinet, the government finally decided to allow the 22 firms to resume their operations.

A special team comprising officials of the forestry ministry and House Commission III has been assigned to assess the mining firms and give final recommendations.

According to a document issued by the special team, the status of the mining sites of the first three companies had been changed from "protected forest area" to "production forest area", to allow the companies to resume their operations without violating Forestry Law No. 41/1999.

Meanwhile, the team also found out that the mining sites of the other three companies should not have been categorized as "protected forest", but "production forest".

House Commission III legislator Andas P. Tanri said that the above six companies had also received support from the local administrations.

"The six companies can resume their operations as they have received positive recommendations from the local administrations," said Andas.

He added that the House had decided not to let PT Citra Palu Minerals resume its mining operation in Central Sulawesi province because the local administration had opposed the plan.

Citra Palu is owned by mining giant Rio Tinto.

But Rio Tinto spokesperson Nuni Maulana said that the group had already planned to drop its ownership in Citra Palu because it deemed the gold reserves in the mine not feasible to justify continued exploration.

"The gold reserves at the location are not feasible for us to exploit; therefore we decided to sell the company," said Nuni. Rio Tinto owns a 90 percent stake in Citra Palu.

The document also revealed that the special team could not yet complete its assessment on four mining companies due to a lack of data.

The four companies were PT Westralian Atan Minerals, PT Kelian Equatorial Mining, both located in East Kalimantan, PT Meares Soputan Mining (North Sulawesi) and PT Arutmin Indonesia (South Kalimantan).

The team is also still in the process of assessing the other 11 mining companies.

Although Forestry Law No. 41/1999 bans open-cast mining in protected forest areas, there is a special clause in the law allowing such activities, provided a special permit has been obtained from the House.