Bureaucratic initiative attracts investors
Bureaucratic initiative attracts investors
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of investors have expressed their interest in the general mining sector following a bureaucratic initiative launched by the government last month.
Director General of Mines Kuntoro Mangkusubroto told journalists here on Friday evening that his office has registered 320 interested investors after it simplified investment procedures last month.
Under the new procedures, investors need only five days to have their proposals processed and another 14 days to get their licenses, compared to two to six months as was the case earlier.
Investors can also get information on the status of the desired locations in only 15 minutes, Kuntoro added.
He explained that each investor is required to deposit Rp 10,000 (US$4.32) for each hectare of their proposed plots at his account as a guarantee for their serious intentions.
"They can have back their money when their investment is put into effect or when they cancel it altogether," Kuntoro said.
He added that, in less than one month, his office has collected some Rp 110 billion in guarantee funds from interested investors.
"Most of the guarantee funds came from foreign investors. They came from Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea," Kuntoro continued.
As of last month, Kuntoro said, 132 companies had made investments in mining under a so-called "contract" scheme. 90 of them, however, had terminated their activities.
Six hundred and six firms had been working under a "mining authorization" scheme, 14 of which had terminated their operations.
Lusang Mining
Kuntoro also disclosed that the government has revoked the license of gold miner PT Lusang Mining for its failure to fulfill financial obligations to its employees, partners and the government.
Lusang Mining's unpaid obligations to its employees and partners totaled Rp 900.5 million (US$390,000), and $240,013 in the form of royalties to the government.
The company secured the government's license under a contract of work scheme in February 1995 to conduct gold exploration in Lebong Tandai district, Bengkulu. It is the first domestic private company to produce gold.
Kuntoro also detailed the country's production levels of major minerals last year: gold - 20.4 tons, gold in concentrate - 42.3 tons, silver - 181.8 tons, silver in concentrate - 81.9 tons, copper - 1.5 million tons, coal - 40.9 million tons, tin - 44,217 tons, bauxite - 904,459 tons, nickel - 2.5 million tons, ferro-nickel - 10,735 tons, nickel in matte - 43,943 tons.
As of the third quarter of last year, the government's revenues from the general mining industry, in the form of royalties, land rent, exploration and exploitation fees, totaled Rp 57.1 billion. (rid)