80 firms to get mining contracts

80 firms to get mining contracts

JAKARTA (JP): At least 80 foreign companies will soon receive
contracts of works (COWs) to develop coal and mineral deposits
across the country, according to a senior official.

Director General of Mining Adjat Sudradjat said Thursday that
the 80 mining contracts had recently been approved by President
Soeharto. "We hope to award the contracts to the investors this
month", he added.

Seventy-two COWs are to develop mineral deposits, including
gold, silver, copper and nickel and eight COWs are to develop
coal deposits.

The 72 mineral COWs and eight coal COWs are respectively parts
of the seventh generation mineral COWs and the third generation
coal COWs that were approved by the House of Representatives last
year.

Existing law requires all foreign applications for mining COWs
to be approved first by the House of Representatives then by the
President. Only after presidential approval can the Minister of
Mines and Energy sign and award COWs.

The minister can sign applications for COWs from local
investors without consulting the House and the President.

The government initially received 164 applications for the
seventh generation mineral COWs and eight applications for the
third generation coal COWs.

Ninety-nine applications were put forward for presidential
approval, of which 19 have yet to be approved. 73 investors
withdrew their applications following examination by the House of
Representatives. Several reasons for withdrawal were cited,
including a lack of finance.

Minister of Investment Sanyoto Sastrowardoyo recently said
that of the 80 COWs approved by the president, 43 had been
awarded to Canadian investors, 10 to Australian investors, nine
to Singaporean investors, four to Panamanian investors and three
to South Korean investors. About 70 percent of the applications
for mineral COWs came from Canadian gold prospectors. (jsk)