Aussie envoy in Kalimantan

JAKARTA (JP): Australian Ambassador to Indonesia John McCarthy began a four-day visit to East Kalimantan yesterday to observe Australian mining projects in the area.

The Australian Embassy said yesterday that during his stay, McCarthy intended to visit mining operations of PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Kelian Equatorial Mining, in which Australia's mining firm Rio Tinto has stakes.

He will also visit the office of Australia's mining giant BHP.

"The mining industry remains a major export earner for Indonesia and my visit is intended to show that Australia has substantial investment in this sector," McCarthy said, adding that despite Indonesia's current economic problems, Australian companies are staying in the country for the long term.

The ambassador said he welcomed Indonesia's recent awardings of mining contracts of work to overseas companies, which included 11 Australian companies.

The 11 companies are Pelsart International NL, Moonstone Diamond Corp. NL, MM Gold Pty. Ltd., Laverton Gold NL, BHP Asia Pacific Nickel Pty. Ltd., WMC Resources International Pty. Ltd., Herald Resources Ltd., Ocean Resources NL, Lone Star Exploration NL, Wesfarmers Coal (Indonesia) Pty. Ltd. and BHP Minerals Holdings Pty. Ltd. (08)