Bre-X seeks govt advise on its operations
Bre-X seeks govt advise on its operations
JAKARTA (Antara): Bre-X Minerals Ltd said Tuesday it would
seek the Indonesian government's advise on how to go about its
operations in the country.
Bre-X manager for Indonesia, Greg McDonald, said the company
and its local subsidiaries in the meantime would keep evaluating
the potentials of its projects in the country and hope a decision
would be reached on what the company should do next.
Based in Calgary, Canada, Bre-X Minerals Ltd is widely
believed to have manipulated the data regarding its gold deposit
discovery in Busang, East Kalimantan, after Strathcona Minerals
assayed its samples and declared the incident a "hoax".
After the announcement that Bre-X would compensate its 549
employees, McDonald said, the company had no other course but to
ask the government what to do next.
So far the government has only announced an order to freeze
all Bre-X's activities in Indonesia but has not formally served a
letter to that effect.
"As long as the company does not receive the letter, Bre-X
will continue its operations Indonesia," McDonald said.
The company has been doing exploration work in Busang I, II
and III in East Kalimantan, as well as in Sable, Aceh, and
Sangihe, North Sulawesi.
None of the explorations, however, have reached production
stage.
Through its subsidiary Westralian Atas Mineral, Bre-X has a 60
percent stake in its Busang I project, while its local partners,
PT Krueng Gasui and PT Sungai Atan Perdana, own 30 percent and 10
percent respectively.
Bre-X owns 45 percent in its Busang II and III projects, while
Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc owns 15 percent, Nusamba 30
percent and the Indonesian government 10 percent.
Bre-X finance control manager Bernhard Leode also said his
company would ask for guidance and approval from the government
concerning plans the company made for its projects throughout the
country.
"For the next couple of months, along with our local partners,
we will keep working to make sure that our projects in Indonesia
still run well," he said.